


lost ninja relic collection

by rathanded



Category: Naruto
Genre: Multi, reupload for friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-22 17:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 37,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21305735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rathanded/pseuds/rathanded
Summary: a lost ninja. a lost legend. a lost hero to us kinnies. we finally have risen above
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> please dont read this it wont make any sense

Austin got up from the couch and looked at his twin. Sasuke was sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal.

“Hurry up, Sasuke! We’re going to get our team assignments today!” He exclaimed excitedly.

Sasuke sighed and looked at Austin. “Yes, we are. We won't be late. It's 2 hours away.”

Austin shrugged. “We have to get there early so we’ll get put in the best teams!”

“That's not how it works…” Sasuke replied. He picked up his bowl and put it in the sink.

Naruto bounced up and down. “C’mon, Matthew! We’re gonna be late!”

Matthew shot out of bed. “We are? No way!”

Naruto grinned and shook his head. “Just kidding! We’ve gotta hurry though!” He threw Matthew’s jacket at him. “Go! Go! Go!”

Matthew sighed and got up. “I'm coming, Naruto…” He mumbled.

Michael sighed and walked out of the door with his bag slung over his shoulder. He would arrive in plenty of time. He looked behind him to see two twins being dragged behind the other. Naruto and Austin laughed, chatted and pulled their twins behind them. Matthew and Sasuke sighed and calmly talked to each other.

He slowed down and walked alongside Matthew and Sasuke, joining into the conversation.

They turned the corner and the more serious students found themselves in a tight situation when they were slammed against each other.

Naruto grinned. “We’re almost there, guys!” He shouted.

Michael smiled and pushed the others forward.

Naruto sat down near Sasuke, while Matthew sat with Michael and a girl named Ino.

Something happened in the area in which Naruto and Sasuke were seated, but Austin was distracted by Ino. Her hair was so beautiful, he thought.

Ino looked up from her desk and Austin looked away, blushing.

A pink-haired girl named Sakura looked at him curiously. “Do you like Ino?” She asked quietly, glaring at Ino.

Austin shook his head and glanced at Ino.

Ino stuck her tongue out at Sakura and looked at Austin. “Stop staring at me, doofus.” She ordered.

Austin blushed furiously and turned his gaze to where Iruka was entering the room.

“Okay, you'll be getting your teams today.” Iruka stated.

Sasuke looked up and listened to what his sensei had to say.

"First: Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke!"

Sakura laughed at Ino. Ino glared at her.

"Shikamaru, Ino and Choji!"

Shikamaru looked around at his teammates and Ino glared at him as well.

"Kiba, Hinata and Shino!"

Hinata glanced at her new teammates nervously. Kiba waved at her, causing her to blush and fix her gaze back on Iruka.

"Rock Lee, Tenten and Neji!"

Rock Lee grinned at Neji and Tenten, silently cheering.

"Austin, Michael and Matthew!"

Matthew smiled and nudged Michael and Austin grinned. Michael nudged Matthew back and he fell out of his chair, causing the room to erupt into laughter. Michael blushed and helped Matthew off of the floor.

  
  
Chapter 2: The legendary super ninja  
Summary:

The 3 Genin train with their new sensei.

  
  
Notes:

I told my friend I would release this in the afternoon and he is counting me down right now so I gotta go fast before it becomes evening also I have a headache so this might be bad

  


Austin sat up and stretched. His first training was today, and he didn't want to miss it.

Sasuke was already gone, and he noticed that his twin hadn't eaten breakfast. Austin shrugged, knowing how serious Sasuke was about training- he'd throw up his food if he trained too hard.

He grabbed a donut and put it in his mouth, tying on his headband. He leapt out of the door and ran all the way to the training area for his team- a small area of wetlands just inside the village.

Matthew watched as Austin sprinted to them. Michael stifled a laugh as Austin tripped and rolled the rest of the way down the hill.

Their new sensei stood in a nearby tree, observing his students. He, too, had trouble with controlling his laughter as the ninja rolled down the hill.

As Austin neared a small cliff, his sensei leapt over to him and scooped him up. In an instant, the Jonin was beside the group of Genin.

"Good morning. I'm Arrion, but you can call me... the legendary super shinobi!"

They laughed. This Jonin wasn't much older than them.

Austin laughed as well as he was put down on the ground.

"Now, today will not be an easy day. I want you to introduce yourself to me, then we will start training." Arrion stated.

Michael shrugged. "I'm Michael Videnlo. I like striped shirts." He told his new sensei.

Austin leapt into the air. "I'm Austin Uchiha, and me and my brother are going to destroy our older brother!" He stated confidently.

"I'm Matthew Uzumaki. I hate ramen, and I like writing!" He made a face. "My brother likes ramen... a lot."

Arrion nodded. "I'm Arrion Kano. I like steak and cheese sandwiches and climbing trees."

Austin was distracted by an ant that climbed a tree.

He found himself trapped in a choke hold with a kunai held at his throat.

"Never let your guard down." Arrion stated calmly. He released Austin and allowed him to stand up.

Austin narrowed his eyes and watched Arrion as he paced in front of the group.

Arrion's hand shot out and he pushed Matthew backwards with one hand.

"Hey! What was that for?" Matthew exclaimed.

"Poor posture. Stand up straight, this isn't the academy anymore. You're a real ninja, so act like it."

Arrion looked at Michael. "I don't see anything wrong with how you're acting. Keep it that way."

Michael nodded.

The training lasted for the whole day, and all 3 genin were exhausted by the end of the day. Matthew and Austin were surprised to learn that their twins weren't home yet, but they went to take a nap immediately afterward.

  
  
Chapter 3: A Hyuga?!  
Summary:

Team Arrion decides to follow Team Kakashi on their mission, but they find something unexpected on the way.

  
  
Notes:

I like the Byakugan... a lot.

  


"Come on, Sasuke! Why can't I go?!" Austin demanded. "It's not fair!"

Sasuke sighed. "Austin, we're only escorting a bridge builder. It's not like we're storming another village."

Austin crossed his arms and glared at Sasuke. "Why do you get to and not me?"

"Because Naruto is an idiot." Sasuke replied condescendingly.

Matthew watched Naruto leave their house. He hoped that Naruto would have fun- and not bring home any ramen. From what Naruto told him, he was escorting a jerk who builds bridges over to a bridge he built. Matthew hoped that the bridge builder wasn't as mean as Naruto made him out to be, but he wasn't too sure.

He was about to take a nap, but Austin burst into the room. He grabbed some crackers and started to run out of his friend's home.

"Whoah!" Matthew exclaimed, catching up to him. He grabbed Austin's arm. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going with Sasuke!" He said excitedly.

Matthew replied, "let me guess, you're sneaking out of the village."

"Yeah!" Austin replied.

Matthew sighed. "I'll come." He said.

The two genin snuck through Konoha and eventually made it to where the team was gathered. They hid in the bushes, where they were surprised to learn that Michael had the same idea.

"Hello." Michael said. "You guys going to follow them, too?"

Matthew nodded. He took a cracker from Austin and watched the group of genin.

Kakashi, their sensei, furrowed his brow and looked towards where the boys were hiding. He looked right at the wall, then shrugged and looked back at his team.

Austin shivered- something wasn't right about that guy. He always covered his face and acted aloof. It annoyed him.

Matthew started to grab another cracker, but Austin swatted his hand away. "We've gotta save food!" He whispered.

Matthew leaned back and waited for the team to begin leaving.

The client finally showed up. He was an old man, and it looked like Naruto was right about the description. He walked into the group.

"I still don't see why a group of little kids were assigned to escort me..." He said, shaking his head.

"I assure you, I am an elite ninja. You'll be fine." Kakashi stated.

They set off, and the other genin followed them through the nearby brush.

"Agh!" Matthew exclaimed softly as he was poked in the side by a branch.

Kakashi turned his head. "Everyone, behind me." He commanded. Naruto and Sasuke reluctantly walked behind him, and Sakura fearfully hid behind Kakashi.

Kakashi looked into the bushes. "Hmm... false alarm. We can continue."

Matthew breathed a sigh of relief, but Austin smacked him in the head. "What're you thinking?" He whispered.

Matthew quietly continued forward. Michael fiddled with a puzzle quietly.

The girl watched as the 3 boys approached her hiding place. She hid in the muddy hole and tried not to be seen. She had evaded many elite shinobi, so there was no reason why she couldn't hide from these beginners. She feared that one day she would be found- shinobi were bad, weren't they?

Austin noticed a small hole in the ground. "Wow! Come look at this huge hole! Maybe we could find a cool frog!"

She shrunk back. Austin reached into the hole.

She concentrated and closed her eyes.

Her pale eyes snapped open and she attacked Austin's nearest Chakra point- his wrist.

"Ow!" He retracted his arm. "There's a dangerous animal in there!" He exclaimed as quietly as possible.

Michael stepped forward. "Lemme see!" He said.

Michael looked down into the hole, and was surprised to see a scared pale-eyed girl huddled in the back.

"It's a girl- she looks like a Hyuga or something..." He explained.

The girl glared at him and tried to attack, but her Byakugan faded, leaving her mostly defenseless and terrified.

  
  
Chapter 4: Don't go back  
Summary:

The genin find hints to the girl's backstory.

  


Austin ran over. "No way- a Hyuga girl out here?"

The girl stared at him questioningly.

"You know, the Hyuga clan? Why did they let you out here?" Austin asked her.

She replied, "Go away." Her eyes flashed dangerously.

Austin stumbled back. Matthew caught him and tried a calmer approach.

"What's your name?" Matthew asked. He held out a cracker.

The girl eyed the cracker suspiciously. "My name is Lexie." She stated.

She pushed the cracker away and crossed her arms.

Matthew sighed. "How did you get here?" He asked.

"Don't know."

"Well, why don't you know?" Matthew asked.

Lexie stifled a laugh. "I just don't." She looked at him dead in the eye. "I think it's best that I don't go back."

Michael took a cracker from Matthew. "You sure you don't want one? You look starved."

Lexie reluctantly took the cracker and bit down on it. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she ate the cracker.

Austin held his wrist and scowled at Lexie. He couldn't channel chakra there, and he knew it was her fault.

"Sorry..." Lexie said to Austin. Austin picked up a clod of dirt and threw it at her. Lexie caught it in her hand and threw it on the ground.

"I apologized, okay?" She said irritably.

Austin grumbled while Matthew and Michael helped Lexie up.

"We should head back to the village..." Austin suggested.

Lexie shook her head. "I'll stay here." She said nervously.

Michael nodded. "We don't know her backstory- someone in the village might want to kill her or something."

Lexie nodded slowly. "Close enough.." She replied.

Matthew gave her the crackers and got up. "Bye for now, then. We'll come back tomorrow with more food for you." He said.

The three genin walked off.

"Are we going to tell anyone?" Matthew asked.

Michael replied, "I guess not. It's obvious that there's someone or something in Konoha that scares her. Maybe a whole clan of someones."

Austin stayed quiet and watched the trees go by as they walked back to the village.

"What were you thinking?" Arrion demanded. "We were worried sick, you boneheads!"

Austin shrugged. Matthew and Michael looked at each other, while Austin looked at the floor.

  
  
Chapter 5: Return from the Mission!  
Summary:

Team 7 returns from the land of waves and stuff!!

  
  
Notes:

Yay, I wasn't rushed this time.

  


Austin ate a bit of ramen, then looked over at Matthew.

"You going to eat that?" He asked.

Matthew shook his head and pushed the bowl over to Austin.

"What happened out there?" Arrion asked. He looked at the 3 boys.

"Nothing happened, we were just curious about the bridge builder." Michael answered. Austin and Matthew nodded.

Arrion narrowed his eyes and took a bite of ramen. "I'm an elite shinobi. I know when someone's lying- even you, Michael."

Michael shrugged. "I'm not lying." He responded.

Matthew piped up. "We saw a cool frog, though!" He shouted cheerfully. Austin nodded vigorously.

Austin picked up his bowl and slurped up the rest of the ramen in his bowl. "Not a very nice frog." He said.

Arrion sighed. "I'll let you off the hook this time." He said reluctantly. "But if I find out that you didn't tell me something, you'll be in big trouble."

-a week later-

Matthew sat on the couch at his home and waited for his twin. Naruto was supposed to come home today if everything went well.

He could imagine Naruto's grinning face as he told Matthew of his accomplishments. He probably had faced some sort of enemy on the way, right?

He decided to get up and meet the team as they entered the village.  
He ran and got Austin, then he got Michael.

"We can meet them if we hurry!" Austin exclaimed. He ran along with his friends and leapt between the buildings excitedly. Matthew and Michael followed at a more leisurely pace, making sure Austin didn't get out of their sight.

They finally arrived just as the team got back. Matthew ran to meet Naruto, and he was met with cheerful shouting and laughing.

"Matthew!" Naruto exclaimed. He high-fived his brother. "We're back!"

Austin leapt at Sasuke and hugged him. "Yay! You're back! Can you train me? Please?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm too tired to train you today. I can help you tomorrow, I guess..." He replied.

Sakura watched the twins talk, then walked over to Kakashi.

"Geez, Sasuke's brother is just like Naruto." She said to him. Kakashi nodded.

"Definitely energetic, but I can see that he's a bit different. He seems like he's a bit less confident and follows his brother a lot more than Naruto." Kakashi replied. "Just my observation..."

Sakura looked at Kakashi. "You're right, Naruto does seem a lot more confident and independent. Imagine living with Twin-Sasuke over there. He'd annoy me more than Naruto!"

Kakashi shrugged. He watched as the genin twins walked away, chattering with each other.

Matthew, Michael and Austin got team 7 to come eat ramen with them. Matthew brought along a bowl of rice to eat, while everyone else ordered ramen.

Naruto slurped up his ramen, as Matthew watched. They had taken measures to make sure they weren't heard, then they began to tell the story about the girl.

"So, we were following you, and we found a hole in the ground!" Matthew began.

Austin continued, "Then I stuck my arm in and I was going to find a frog, but then something hit me in the wrist, and I couldn't use chakra there!"

Michael nodded. "I took a look, and it was a Hyuga girl- pale eyes and everything. She looked like she lived out there, and we talked to her for a while. Her name was Lexie Hyuga."

Austin added in, "She's not nice!"

Matthew scowled at him. "She looked pretty hungry, so we gave her some crackers. We're going to take her some rice today. Wanna come?" He asked.

Naruto nodded excitedly. Sasuke sighed and nodded.

Sakura grinned. "Yeah! Let's help her!" She answered.

  
  
Chapter 6: Something Sneaky This Way Comes  
Summary:

A new 'friend' appears!!!

  


Lexie sat in the bushes and wondered why the team of genin was helping her. It made no sense- and it was also dangerous for them.

She looked out of her hiding place to see 6 genin walking towards her. 6? Why did they tell others? She wondered. She leapt up and climbed a tree.

"Hey! Lexie!" Michael shouted. He looked in the brush where she usually was.

Lexie sat in the tree and wondered if she should reveal herself. The other ninja could be dangerous, or they could help her. She decided to climb back down the tree and leave the brush.

"Wow! She's just like Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke nodded.

"Does she have the Byakugan?" He asked. Austin glared at Lexie and nodded. Sakura ran over to the other girl.

"Oh, you poor thing! Look at your hair! We need to have it cut!" She said worriedly.

Lexie shrugged. "I kind of like it, though..." She responded shyly.

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a snake. She should have known this would happen- should have told the genin not to help her.

She crushed the snake's head quickly, leaving the genin confused at her reaction.

"You guys have to leave, now." She commanded. Matthew picked up the bowl of rice.

"Okay... well, we brought this." He replied.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Now, what's so urgent that we have to leave? Huh?" He demanded.

Lexie shook her head. "Run." She responded. Matthew pulled Naruto's arm, but he wouldn't budge.

"I'm gonna stay right here, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed.

Lexie activated her Byakugan. "No, you're not. If you value your life, you'll leave." She said firmly.

Naruto stumbled back. "W-well, I'm a ninja, and I'll take care of whatever's got you spooked, okay?"

Lexie sighed. "Fine, then. You'll run when he gets here."

Sakura pulled on Sasuke's arm. "Come on, Sasuke!" She exclaimed. "I don't want you to get hurt!!"

Sasuke sighed. "What if it's a threat to the village? We could run and tell the Jonin." He replied.

Naruto nodded. "We'll try to beat him, and if we can't, we'll get you out of here!"

Lexie smiled half-heartedly. "Sure." She said. "There's no way for you to beat him, but you can tell yourself that."

The genin sat down as it began to get dark.

"Are you sure that someone is coming?" Asked Sasuke. He looked worriedly at Austin.

Lexie nodded. "He's likely already here." She replied.

"Right..." A hissing voice sounded from above her.

"Please just run..." Lexie pleaded.

Naruto looked up and spotted a figure in the trees. "Hey! I'm gonna beat you up, believe it!"

  
  
Chapter 7: The snake says hello  
Summary:

Hello.

  


Lexie looked up. "You're not going to beat him up, Naruto."

Naruto started to climb the tree. The figure watched in amusement.

"Hello, little fox." The figure said to him. "Would you mind telling me why you're here? And why you're talking to Lexie?"

Sasuke sighed and pulled Naruto off of the tree. "Come on, Naruto! We can report him to the Hokage if we hurry!" He told the genin wearily.

The figure laughed. "You won't make it 5 feet, child." They said. "How about I let you off with a warning? You don't tell anyone about this, and you will forget that you ever found Lexie out here."

Naruto shook his head. "No! I'm gonna beat you, believe it!" He leapt back onto the tree and climbed it.

Naruto was swept off of the tree. Sasuke caught him.

"Naruto, let's go..." Sakura said quietly.

The figure's eyes narrowed as they looked at Sasuke. "Insteresting. Come along now, little Hyuga."

Lexie shook her head. "I-I'm not going with you." She said.

No, she was not going to be experimented on. Never again.

Naruto grinned. "Yeah! Tell him!"

The figure sighed. "Must you always resist? You know that I can destroy you."

A pale face emerged from the leaves, then the mysterious ninja leapt out. His long, black hair flew into the air as he landed on the ground.

"This is your last warning."

Naruto tried to kick the ninja, but he was thrown to the ground.

"Naruto!" Matthew shouted. He ran over to his brother to help, but he was kicked in the leg.

Sasuke sighed. "Austin, go get someone- Kakashi-sensei, maybe." He walked up to the ninja.

"Sasuke! Don't fight him!" Sakura exclaimed. She tried to pull him away.

Austin ran back to the village as quickly as possible. "H-help! Someone!" He shouted.

A chunin ran over to him. "What is it?" He asked worriedly.

"T-there's a ninja! H-he's really pale and s-stuff and he has black hair a-and he hurt Matthew and N-Naruto!"

The chunin narrowed his eyes. "And you're not lying?" He asked suspiciously.

Austin nodded vigorously. "G-go get someone! Before someone g-gets hurt bad!"

The chunin ran off, heading further into the village. Austin decided to walk back and help his brother.

Sasuke growled at the ninja. "You won't hurt any of my friends." He said.

The ninja laughed. "Oh, you're such a silly little Uchiha. You look just like your older brother." He replied slowly.

"I don't look anything like Itachi!" Sasuke yelled. He ran at the other ninja.

"I'll kill you!" Sasuke shouted. He launched a steady stream of fire from his mouth.

The ninja grinned and dodged it. "I wish I could stay and fight, Uchiha, but I need to leave. I'll be taking the girl now.

Lexie growled and activated her Byakugan. "No." She told the ninja.

Austin came running back with Kakashi. "Guys! I got Kakashi!"

Lexie tried to grab the ninja's arm, but he punched her in the face and picked her up by the neck.

"I will not hesitate to kill this child." He said calmly.

  
  
Chapter 8: The snake says goodbye  
Summary:

Goodbye.

  


Kakashi stared at the ninja. "You... Orochimaru... what are you doing here?"

Orochimaru grinned and threw Lexie to the ground. "Nothing, really." He replied.

Michael casually unzipped his backpack.

Kakashi glared at Orochimaru. "You're hurting my students, and you were just choking that girl. That's not nothing."

Orochimaru glanced at Michael. "May I ask what you're doing, child?" He asked.

"Food." Michael said, pulling out a leaf and eating it. Orochimaru smiled a bit, then looked around at the landscape.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but then looked back at Orochimaru. "Leave now." He told the man.

"I was going to leave as soon as these children stopped trying to hit me." Orochimaru answered casually.

Lexie looked at Michael, and activated her Byakugan. She was shocked to see vines growing from the bag on his back that grew into his body.

Michael looked at her and discreetly held up a hand. He counted down. 3,2,1...

Her hand shot out at Orochimaru and struck him in the back of the leg, as vines sprouted out of Michael's mouth and flew like daggers towards the ninja.

Orochimaru dodged the vines, then ripped them. He scowled at Michael.

A snake flew from Orochimaru's open hand and flew towards Michael. He held Lexie down with his foot. Michael dodged the snake.

Michael held up a hand as a vibrant flower grew on top of it. Bees of all kinds swarmed to the flower and hovered around it.

He shot the flower out, and it harmlessly attached itself to Orochimaru's forehead. Orochimaru laughed.

"A flower?" He asked, not taking him seriously. He continued looking at Kakashi.

More and more bees began to swarm towards the flower. By this point, Orochimaru had noticed the bees.

"Ah, I see." He said, pulling the flower off. He threw it to the ground. "I see that I have underestimated you."

Austin ran towards Orochimaru and tried to punch him in the face, but Orochimaru grabbed his fist and held him up.

"This child dies if anyone makes another move. I want everyone here to return to the village."

Sasuke ran up behind him and kicked him in the neck, knocking him down and releasing Austin.

Orochimaru laughed and got up. "You got me, Sasuke. Good kick." He picked Sasuke up and threw him at a tree, which made a satisfying cracking sound. Of course, it was non-lethal. He couldn't have Sasuke dead.

Sasuke got up and held his arm. He gritted his teeth and activated his Sharingan.

He ran towards Orochimaru and tried to hit him again, but he was caught and picked up. Kakashi lunged forward.

"Get your hands off of him!" Kakashi shouted. "Chidori!" He charged at Orochimaru and hit him with the lightning-style attack.

Orochimaru looked at him and laughed. He hit Kakashi to the ground and released Sasuke.

"I'll be taking the girl now." He said, picking Lexie up by her shirt collar and walking away.

  
  
Chapter 9: The snake fights a legend  
Summary:

The fight continues as Austin encourages everyone to push on.

  


Austin ran after Orochimaru. "Put her down!" He shouted. Naruto followed him and tried to stop him, but Austin glared at him. Austin's eyes were red with black tomoe- he had awakened his Sharingan!

Naruto stood in shock as Austin continued running after Orochimaru.

Orochimaru looked behind him to see Austin in pursuit. He laughed and stopped. He didn't need this Uchiha, but it would be good to have a backup plan.

Austin lunged at him and aimed his leg at Orochimaru's arm. He successfully knocked Lexie out of his hand, much to his and Orochimaru's surprise. Lexie got up and kicked the Sannin in the stomach.

Orochimaru looked at him. "Was that supposed to hurt?" He asked condescendingly. A snake shot out at Austin, but he grabbed it. Austin looked over into the bushes and jolted.

"Run!" He shouted at Lexie. Lexie leapt into the air and almost kicked Orochimaru, but she was caught and thrown on the ground. Austin grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

"I told you to run, idiot!" He exclaimed as he ran. Orochimaru launched a large snake at him, which he was hit by. He looked up and saw Michael picking them up with vines.

Orochimaru tried to grab Lexie, but Michael moved the vines up and hit him with a cactus that had sprouted from his other hand.

Kakashi held Sasuke and watched the wild scene in front of him. Michael ran over to him and put Austin on the ground.

"He's... passed out..." He told Kakashi weakly. The assorted plants retracted and disappeared as he collapsed.

Sakura screamed. "Sasuke!! What happened to you?! Are you okay?!" Kakashi pushed her away.

"Naruto, run Sasuke back to the village. Matthew, can you take Michael?" Kakashi commanded. The twins nodded and picked up their teammates.

Lexie picked Austin up by the back of his shirt with one hand. "I can take him..." She told Kakashi. Kakashi nodded.

"I don't know who you are or why a Hyuga girl is out here, but I can save those questions for later." Kakashi said confusedly. Lexie nodded and ran off.

"Sakura, help me fend off Orochimaru." Kakashi commanded. Sakura nodded and stood beside her sensei as Orochimaru approached.

"Heh... I'll have fun killing you..." Orochimaru said, glaring at them. He kicked Sakura into a tree, then faced Kakashi.

"Why are you back? What was so important that you would get this close to the village?" Kakashi demanded.

"The girl. Lexie Hyuga." Orochimaru stated. Kakashi helped Sakura up.

"Run back to the village, Sakura." Kakashi told her. Sakura limped away without a word.

Arrion chose then to burst through the brush next to them. "The legend is here!" He shouted. Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Help me with him, will you?" He said to Arrion. Orochimaru looked on with interest.

Arrion nodded and began a furious barrage of punches in front of him, as if demonstrating his speed.

Then, he and Kakashi both rushed towards Orochimaru. They attacked in unison and moved the Sannin back a few feet. Orochimaru coughed and took a few seconds to recover.

Is he sick? Kakashi thought as he attacked him.

Michael grinned. The poison from the flower should have started taking effect. He lapsed in and out of consciousness as he was carried into the village.

  
  
Chapter 10: The aftermath  
Summary:

Pretty self explanatory

  


Orochimaru coughed again and blocked attacks from the two shinobi. He summoned a constrictor snake that flung itself around Arrion's neck.

Arrion pulled on the snake. He tried to squirm out of it, but the snake pulled tighter.

Orochimaru laughed as Arrion struggled with the snake, coughing and choking.

"Now you can watch your friend die, Kakashi!" Orochimaru told him joyfully. Kakashi pulled out a kunai and cut the snake away, releasing Arrion.

Arrion coughed and got up. "Ha! It takes more than that to kill me!" He shouted. Orochimaru coughed into his hand, and saw blood.

"Looks like... I need to leave." Orochimaru announced weakly. He dashed into the trees.

Lexie made it to the village and put Austin down on the ground. She signaled for a Jonin, and handed the genin to them.

The Jonin looked at her and gasped. Could it be the runaway Hyuga? He wondered. He looked at her hair- it had a white stripe on the side.

"Are you Lexie Hyuga?" He asked. Lexie glared at him.

"The details don't matter. Austin is hurt, and you need to get him to a clinic right away." Lexie told him.  
The Jonin took Austin and ran towards the medical center.

Kakashi ran after Orochimaru, but the mysterious ninja had disappeared from sight. He looked around and searched for him, but Orochimaru was nowhere to be found.

Arrion caught up. "Did you get him?" He asked Kakashi excitedly. Kakashi shook his head.

-Two days later-

Austin was still in the hospital, for injuries sustained from the battle. He hadn't realized that his wrist and ankles were broken, and he had one broken rib.

He shifted and winced as he touched his chest to the mattress. It was starting to heal already, and he could start training in the next week.

The door opened and Austin turned to look at his visitor.

"Hi..." Ino said softly. She had a slice of cake. "I brought this to Sasuke, but he told me to give it to you."

Austin grinned. "Cake? Yay! Thanks, Ino!" He told her excitedly. He ate the cake in a few bites without using his hands, which clearly disgusted Ino.

Austin shrugged. "Sorry, I can't eat very well like this.." He said.

Ino gave him a towel, and Austin wiped his mouth. "Thanks." He mumbled.

"Well, I'm going to check on Sasuke." Ino said dreamily. Austin scowled at her.

Lexie had hidden with Michael once he was deemed healthy but extremely exhausted, and she lived in fear that the Hyuga would learn of her presence. She hadn't exactly left them on the best note...

Michael's home was covered in plants. Flowers, cactuses, vines and small trees all grew in the cracks of his walls. She identified many species of poisonous plants, and a lot of his vines and cactuses were extremely spiky and dangerous.

She ate a sandwich (it had spinach and basil in it, and he made his own ketchup out of fresh tomatoes) and it had lots of other vegetables. It was actually quite good.

The two heard knocks on the door, and Lexie hid in a secret compartment full of Venus Flytraps and other carnivorous plants.

"Lexie?" She heard Sakura say. Relieved, she waited for Michael to tell her to come out.

"You can come out here, Lexie." Michael said. Lexie emerged from the small space.

"Come on, me and Ino are going to fix your hair!" Sakura exclaimed.

Lexie sighed. This would be a long day...

Orochimaru sighed. "Kabuto, the child attached a bright yellow flower to my forehead. Is that a problem?"

Kabuto nodded. "It is. That flower was more than likely the Heronus Vericlin, which is highly poisonous. It can kill within hours- it's very good that you're so strong."

  
  
Chapter 11: Attack On Flowers  
Summary:

A battle sparks over a flower.

  
  
Notes:

yes i did have to make an attack on titan reference in the title  
also very tired and struggling with writer's block

  


"It affects your mind, Lord Orochimaru. We need to get this poison out of your system right away, before it damages you permanently." Kabuto told him.

Orochimaru sighed. "How long do I have before it starts killing me, Kabuto?"

"About 2 days, give or take. Of course, this is assuming that you are at full power and are not affected by anything else. You will be dead within hours if your immune system is weakened."

"Well, get rid of the poison, then." Orochimaru commanded.

"It's not that simple. You must be injected with the crushed petals of the Galus Sigani, which is an extremely rare flower." Kabuto replied.

"Go get it, Kabuto."

"Of course." Kabuto answered. He went to put on a disguise so he wouldn't be noticed later on if he had to do something drastic.

Lexie groaned as Ino styled her hair. It looked like her hair was flying all over the place, but Sakura seemed to approve of it.

Michael shuffled up to Sakura. "So... are you doing anything this weekend?" He asked shyly.

Sakura looked at him. "You want to ask me out?" She said incredulously.

Michael nodded. "It doesn't have to be like a date, but do you want to go to Ichiraku with me on Saturday?" He asked, a bit more confident.

Sakura thought for a moment. Maybe Sasuke would be jealous that Michael was going out with her!

"Sure, it could be like a date." Sakura said casually. She smiled at him.

Michael blushed and said, "I-I didn't expect to make it this far..."

Austin was allowed to go back to his home, but he decided to go visit Michael and check on Lexie. He walked up to his friend's door and knocked loudly.

He stumbled back as Ino answered the door.

"Hey! Come on in, mini-Sasuke." Ino told him. Austin walked inside nervously.

Lexie's hair looked like Sasuke was electrocuted twice and thrown off a cliff. Austin stared at her hair before sitting down near Ino.

Lexie tried to smell a yellow flower, but she was yanked back by Michael.

"Poisonous." He told Lexie.

Michael heard a knock on the door, and he shoved Lexie into her hiding place. He ran over and answered the door.

"Hello." Kabuto said. "I am looking for a rare flower, and I have heard that you may have it. Do you have any Galus Sigani?"

Michael nodded. "Pretty rare. How much will you pay for it?"

"10,000 Ryo."

Michael raised his eyebrows. "That's quite a bit of money... I'll give you some. I need to see the money first, though."

Kabuto pulled out a few bags of Ryo. Michael stared at it. "This is 10,000 Ryo, possibly more. This flower isn't that rare."

"I needed to make sure you would trade it. I have plenty of Ryo." Kabuto told him.

Michael went inside and picked some flowers, then froze.

This flower cured the poison of the Heronus Vericlin that he had used to poison Orochimaru. Why else would he pay that much Ryo?

He had known that the ninja looked fishy.

Michael put the flowers back in the pot and put it in the compartment with Lexie. He walked back to Kabuto. "I'm sorry, I forgot that they died a few weeks ago."

"That's funny, because I saw them alive through your window before I got here. Give me the flowers."

Michael growled at him and the plants around him seemed to rear back to attack. "The deal's off."

Kabuto walked forward, into the house. "I need those flowers, kid. I'll search this house until they're found."

Austin charged at him, but Kabuto picked him up and slung him at the wall where it looked like a panel had been slid over a compartment. The panel fell out, revealing Lexie and the flowers.

Kabuto's eyes widened in surprise. "Two prizes in one day? Come with me, Lexie."

Lexie shook her head and threw a kunai at him.

Ino tried to kick him in the back. "You hurt Austin, and now Sasuke's gonna be upset!" She shouted. Kabuto grabbed her leg and slammed her head on the ground.

Austin got up. "Don't you dare hurt Ino, you foul creature." He said ominously. His eyes glowed with Sharingan.

He leapt at Kabuto and blocked all of his attacks. He landed a kick that hit Kabuto in the face, but the next kick was caught and Austin was thrown again.

Kabuto picked Lexie up by the hood and took the flowers. "Wish I could stay longer, but I have to go. Bye!"

Austin got up, but his leg collapsed and he fell back down. The last thing he saw before he passed out was Ino smiling at him, thanking him for standing up for her.

Ino and Sakura carried Austin to the clinic, where he had to stay for multiple days for a broken leg and arm. Ino visited him every day.

  
  
Chapter 12: Cure  
Summary:

Orochimaru is cured!!!

  


"Kakashi-sensei, you know that girl that was out in the forest?" Sakura asked. Kakashi nodded and looked up from his book.

"And how we were attacked by a ninja?"

Kakashi put his book down. "What's your point?" He asked.

Sakura replied, "Well, that ninja took her, and we need to help her."

"She was here? Wasn't she the missing Hyuga girl from 2 years ago?"

Kabuto arrived back at the hideout. He held the flowers in one hand and the Hyuga in the other.

Orochimaru stared at him. "I see that you retrieved Lexie, too. Good." He was secretly wondering why Kabuto succeeded in capturing Lexie, while he had failed.

Lexie squirmed and pulled away from the Sannin. She glared at him.

Kabuto put Lexie on the ground and went to crush the flowers.

"Come with me." Orochimaru commanded. Lexie shook her head and got up.

"I'm done with this. You already have the secrets of my Byakugan, what else do you want?" She told him fiercely.

Orochimaru sighed. "I said come with me, child. Do you want to be tortured again?" He said casually.

Lexie reluctantly followed him. She had a long, jagged scar on her neck from the last time she tried to rebel, and she didn't want to be tortured again.

She was led into a large room with other test subjects. Some had lots of scars and seemed to shamble about like they had no fighting spirit left, while a few had little to no scars.

She was in the middle- she would try to keep fighting, but some times she felt it was best to stay quiet.

"Do you remember this room? This is-" He coughed loudly. "where you eat..." He mumbled something about Kabuto before directing her towards a table with other subjects.

Austin got out of his bed and hopped on one foot. "See, I can fight! I'll come with you to save Lexie!"

Arrion shook his head. "You're staying here." He told his student. Austin protested, but Arrion left the room.

Ino walked into the room to console Austin. "Come on, Austin. You have a broken leg and arm- you can't go."

"But I wanna go!" He shouted forcefully.

Ino sighed. "I'm not going even though I want to, and I'm not yelling."

Austin got quieter. "I just really want to kill Orochimaru..." He said sadly.

Kabuto finished crushing the flowers. He mixed it with some other medicine, then put it in the syringe.

Orochimaru waited for Kabuto, coughing violently occasionally. He could tell that it was getting worse, and he needed the flowers right away.

Kabuto entered the room, syringe in hand.

"This will hurt a lot." Kabuto told Orochimaru. "The Galus Sigani reacts to the Heronus Vericlin and immediately negates it, but it will also cause flashes of intense pain for the next few days."

Orochimaru shrugged. "I've endured worse, Kabuto." He said to Kabuto casually.

Kabuto sighed. "Here we go, then." He said, sounding very annoyed. He injected the mixture into Orochimaru's arm.

Orochimaru flinched- the pain was like swimming in melting metal. The pain got worse, and he shuddered.

Kabuto smirked. "Told you so. It'll go away soon, and come back occasionally."

Orochimaru groaned. "Just leave me alone, Kabuto..." He said quietly. Kabuto left the room.

Lexie ate the familiar brown oatmeal that she had eaten for the past 2 years. It tasted disgusting, but she didn't want to starve.

  
  
Chapter 13: Preparation!!!  
Summary:

Everyone prepares to help Lexie escape, while Lexie learns of Orochimaru's sinister plan.

  
  
Notes:

Idk what this chapter even is because I can't sleep and stuffs

Also ran a mile and got stranded at my brother's friend's house for an hour or two

In other words, I am in pretty bad shape

  


Michael walked into Austin's room. He turned the light on, which caused Austin to snap awake.

"Don't turn the light on when I'm sleeping, Michael!" Austin exclaimed grumpily. He tried to throw up his hands, but he grunted as he moved his broken arm.

Michael shrugged. "Y'know, I'll just leave if you don't want me to heal your injuries."

Austin shot up. "Really? That would be awesome!"

"It's a forbidden medical herb that heals anything... but if you don't take it regularly, it'll come back worse than before. I think it should work for your arm and leg, just for this mission."

Austin's eyes sparkled. "Yeah! I can go on this mission, then!" He exclaimed.

Michael pulled out a bright green plant and crushed it with his fists, then put it on 2 bandages. He tied them around Austin's arm and leg.

"So I can go now?" Austin asked excitedly.

"It will take a few hours. Also, tell no one about this. No one, Austin."

Austin nodded quickly. "Tell no one! Got it!" He gave Michael a thumbs up.

Michael nodded and walked away.

Lexie sighed. Kabuto was going to tell her why they had taken her again, and she wasn't in the mood to listen. Unfortunately, she really needed to learn what was going on before she escaped, so she could tell the Leaf.

"We need to clone you so we have an army of Hyuga. Then, you will train them to be perfect soldiers. Understand?" Kabuto told her.

Lexie shrugged. "Not really sure. Maybe you should repeat it over there, where I can't hear you." She said.

Kabuto laughed. "You're hilarious." He said. "So hilarious, I could kill you."

Lexie didn't back down. "You're so annoying, I could throw you off a cliff."

"If you did that, Orochimaru would seriously hurt you. You'd barely be alive at that point." Kabuto stated.

"He probably doesn't need or care about you, Kabuto."

"The sad part is that I realize that."

Austin leapt out of bed- he felt great! He put on his jacket and jumped out of the window, running towards his sensei's house.

"Arrion-sensei!" He shouted as he knocked on the door.

Arrion opened the door. "It's 6 am..." He said quietly before noticing who it was. "Oh, Austin? You should be in bed... aren't you hurt?"

Austin shook his head. "Got better." He told Arrion. "I wanna go on the mission!"

Arrion narrowed his eyes. "Run to that tree and climb it, then run back."

Austin sprinted to the tree and climbed it on arms and legs. He leapt off of the tree, then ran back.

Arrion shrugged. "You seem fine... must be that Uchiha chakra. You can go, the mission is tommorow." He said suspiciously.

Austin jumped for joy. "Yeah! I'm gonna save Lexie and kill that old snake!"

Arrion yawned and closed the door.

  
  
Chapter 14: You can't stop us  
Summary:

The smol teams of genin fight at Orochimaru's hideout!

  
  
Notes:

ino dies (JKJKJKJKJKJKJK I'm annoying real life Austin)

  


Austin was ready to go. He had his kunai, his jacket and a cookie for later, and it was only 6 am.

Sasuke sat at the table and ate toast. He was ready, but the mission wasn't to start until 9 am.

“Sasuke! Sasuke! Go! Go!” Austin shouted.

“Austin, it’s only 6 am…” Sasuke replied.

“The mission starts in 3 hours!” Austin told his brother.

“Remind me again why two teams of genin were chosen to attack a Sannin…” Sasuke said exasperatedly.

“Because Lexie knew where they were and told me over everyone else, so that must mean that I'm, like, the chosen ninja!” He shouted.

Sasuke shrugged. “I have no idea why they would let you in this mission.” He muttered.

Austin grinned. “Because I'm really, really awesome!” He exclaimed.

Sasuke sighed as Austin dragged him out of their home.

-2 days later-

Lexie threw her bowl on the ground in a fit of rage. Earlier, Kabuto had put her in an isolation cell for asking where Orochimaru was. She didn't say it in the kindest way, but she didn't think she deserved to be stuck in a tiny cell.

The door slid open. Kabuto stood at the door.

“The first cloning attempt has been successful. We need you to be present when we allow them to awake.” Kabuto told her.

Seeing as she had no choice, Lexie got up and followed him. The winding hallways never seemed to end, but she noticed familiar features every once in a while. Every time she was taken out of her cell, she made note of the layout of the compound.

Kabuto led her into a room that was empty of everything but a bed with a sleeping person that was her age. In fact, they looked exactly like her.

“This is clone number 1. You may call them whatever you want to, though.”

Lexie turned around as the door slammed shut, causing her to stagger back.

She hesitantly walked over to the clone. “H-hello?” She said uncertainly.

The clone’s arm twitched and their fists clenched. They opened their eyes slowly.

Lexie waved at them. “Hello… are you awake?” She asked.

The clone nodded. “Where… where am I?” They asked. Lexie noticed that the clone shuddered a bit. Could they feel parts of her memory?

“You're in some sort of sick scientist’s lab. Don't worry, he's hurt or something. I don't really know what happened.” She told the clone. “I'm Lexie. What’s your name?”

“I don't know.” The clone said. “I don't remember anything.”

“Why don't we call you Lucien?” Lexie suggested. The clone- Lucien- nodded.

She heard quick footsteps moving through the hallways. There was some yelling, then it was quiet. What was going on?

Lucien shivered. “W-what’s going on?” They asked. “I'm scared…”

Lexie held a finger to her lips. “I have some friends. I don't really think so, but maybe they came back for me…”

Michael surrounded himself and his friends with large Venus Flytraps. They were easily cut down, but one Sound Ninja was eaten.

Matthew exchanged furious attacks with a ninja about his age. "Temporary Paralysis Jutsu!" He shouted. The other ninja froze in place and Matthew kicked him in the throat.

Austin dodged kunai as he moved towards his opponent. He ran to the left of the other ninja, and tried to surprise them, but his feet were swept out from under him. Sasuke leapt to defend him, standing over his brother.

Naruto grinned and charged the ninja with hundreds of shadow clones. The ninja threw his shuriken, but ran out and was trampled by the crowd of Naruto.

Kakashi and Arrion ran between the battles, helping the two teams take down their enemies.

Matthew leapt into the air and attempted to use an advanced Taijutsu move, but failed and found himself being thrown to the ground.

Naruto ran over and helped up his brother, trying to block the other ninja's attacks. A shuriken grazed Naruto's cheek, but he used his clones to take the attacks for him.

Matthew moved away from his brother and fought the ninja himself, as Naruto attacked his back. The ninja fell down and the two brothers continued forward.

Kakashi hid in a tree and summoned a shadow clone. The shadow clone ran out to join the battle, while Kakashi slipped away unnoticed.

Austin and Arrion fought off one more sound ninja, and noticed that the rest had left.

"Where'd they all go?!" Austin exclaimed. "I wanna fight you guys! Come on out!"

Sasuke put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go save the Hyuga, Austin." He told his brother.

Lexie kicked the door. "Come on, Lucien. Let's go!" She shouted. She continued kicking the door until it made a dent. Lucien helped kick the door, and it finally went down.

"You're going to see the outside of this place." Lexie told them. Lucien nodded.

She sneaked along the wall until she reached a familiar crack in a stone brick. The dining hall was down the second hallway on the left, and she pulled Lucien towards the room. They could break a lot of the test subjects out, and cause Orochimaru a lot of trouble.

As she neared the large room, she noticed a dark presence nearby. She stopped and looked around, making sure Lucien was safe. She knew that Orochimaru was on to them.

"Get out here, you ugly, pale snake." She said sharply.

Orochimaru leapt from the ceiling and landed in front of her. He smirked.

"Escaping again, are we?" Orochimaru asked. Lucien shrunk back.

Lexie nodded. "We're leaving, and you won't stop us."

  
  
Chapter 15: Kabuto is actually pretty cool  
Summary:

Betrayal?!

  


Austin climbed into the hideout and landed on the ground.

"Come on, Sasuke!" He shouted. His brother leapt down to where he was.

Naruto leapt into the air and tried to do a backflip into the hideout, but he hit his leg on a rock and fell on top of Sasuke.

"Are you guys ok?!" Austin asked worriedly as the two got up. The rest of the two teams climbed down and they continued forward.

Lexie pushed Lucien behind her. "You won't hurt Lucien." She said to Orochimaru'.

Orochimaru grinned. "What makes you think that, Hyuga? I'll crush your clone and anyone else who stands in my way."

"Except me, Austin and Sasuke." She corrected him. Orochimaru scowled. She had him there.

Lexie activated her Byakugan and glared at Orochimaru, planning her attack. She would hold him off long enough for Lucien to escape, then try to stay conscious until her friends arrived.

"Go, Lucien. The exit is the third hallway on the left. If you see a crowd of teens wearing this symbol, tell them where I am." She handed the clone a Konoha headband that belonged to her friend before she left her clan.

Lucien nodded and ran off, holding the headband tightly.

"You think your friends will stand a chance, little girl? I'll destroy them while you watch." Orochimaru said threateningly.

Orochimaru flinched and staggered back for some reason. His face seemed to be paler than usual (if that was even possible) and Lexie observed that he clutched his stomach.

The great Sannin had a stomach virus? How did that happen? She thought curiously.

Austin ran ahead of the group and looked down each hallway. He was going to be the first to find Lexie, so he could be famous.

Matthew followed close behind and looked around worriedly, while Michael took up the rear. Arrion walked in the middle. The two teams had split up to search for the missing Hyuga and any other important prisoners.

Austin saw a Hyuga girl running through the hallway. "Lexie!" He shouted. The Hyuga turned her head and recognized his headband.

"I'm not Lexie, I'm Lucien. She needs help right away!" She told Austin quickly. "She's just down that hallway, talking to this weird pale guy."

Austin and Michael ran ahead to help, while Matthew made sure Lucien made it out safely.

Lexie ran away from Orochimaru while he was distracted. She looked behind her, but slammed into another ninja.

"Trying to escape again?" Kabuto asked, looking worriedly at Orochimaru.

"8 triagrams, 32 palms!" Lexie shouted.

Kabuto crossed his arms.

Lexie assumed a Gentle Fist position and struck Kabuto twice.

"Two palms!"

She hit him again twice, causing him to stumble back.

"Four palms!"

She hit him 4 times.

"8 palms!"

"16 palms!"

"32 palms!"

Kabuto struggled to stay standing. Lexie looked behind her and saw Orochimaru running towards her. He seemed to have recovered from the pain.

Just then, Austin and Michael ran into the area and charged towards Orochimaru.

Lexie started to run over to help them, but Kabuto grabbed her arm with a surprisingly strong grip for his condition.

"Don't go..." He said quietly. Lexie stared at him.

"I'm leaving, Kabuto. You're almost worse than Orochimaru, and that's a very hard title to achieve."

Kabuto tried to follow her, but she kicked him in the face.

"I'll come with you, then." Kabuto said weakly.

"You're such an idiot, Kabuto." She said, reluctantly helping him up.

Orochimaru looked at the two genin. "We have the little Uchiha and the houseplant. What a day..."

Austin scowled and replied, "You're a ugly old snake!"

Michael nodded.

"Kabuto told me that you had been hospitalized for two broken limbs mere days ago, and now you're here. How is that?"

Austin grinned. "I'm all better now because Michael gave me a forbidden herb! But he doesn't want anyone knowing about it, and he goes: Austin, don't go blabbin' like you always do... oh." He hung his head.

"I don't even know what to say to that." Orochimaru said.

Michael glared at him. "At least it's only Orochimaru and not Arrion..." He said.

Arrion appeared from another hallway. "What about me?" He asked.

Austin shrugged. "Nothing..." He said.

Orochimaru smirked. "I can relate, so I won't tell." He told Austin and Michael.

"Kabuto! Patch yourself up and deal with these children!" Orochimaru ordered. He looked at where Kabuto was, but saw no one.

"Your loyal servant seems to be more loyal to Lexie." Michael observed.

  
  
Chapter 16: Broken Arms, Shattered Secrets  
Summary:

A fight and a secret reveal!!!

  


Orochimaru smirked. "Kabuto would never betray me. He's taking the girl back to her cell as we speak."

"No, I saw Lexie helping him up and Kabuto willingly went with her." Austin replied.

Michael nodded.

"You're lying, little Uchiha."

"No, seriously. He talked to her before he was helped up."

"I'm going to kill him if this is true... he shouldn't be attached to test subjects."

"He can like whoever he wants to like." Michael stated.

"No, he can't." Orochimaru said, irritated.

Austin shrugged and sat down. "I don't see this battle going anywhere..." He said lazily, reaching into his bag.

Orochimaru watched cautiously as he pulled out... a cookie. The child split it into fourths and offered a quarter to Orochimaru.

"Are you stupid? You're sharing a cookie with me?"

"And Matthew, and Michael." Austin said happily. He walked directly towards Orochimaru and held out the cookie.

Orochimaru grabbed his wrist and twisted it around, causing Austin to whine.

"I wanna give you a cookie!" Austin shouted.

"I don't want your cookie." Orochimaru replied.

Austin struggled to free his wrist from Orochimaru's hand. Orochimaru twisted his wrist even more.

Michael ran forward and tried to pull his arm away from Orochimaru, but he was grabbed by the neck.

"The only reason you're in here is because I let you in. You're nothing spe-" Orochimaru gasped and threw the genin to the ground.

The pain he felt was worse than before. "K-Kabuto!" He shouted, shaking.

Austin looked at him with concern. "Are you okay? Want the cookie now?"

Orochimaru pulled a sword out of his mouth. "Get back." He commanded, voice shaking.

Michael launched vines at him, but he dodged the attacks.

"Even with this pain... I'm still far stronger than your whole team combined."

Austin shook his head. "I'm just getting warmed up!" He exclaimed.

Orochimaru felt like he was drowning in magma. He glared at the child and ran towards him, grabbing his arm and forcing him to the ground.

He pulled on his arm and stepped on his shoulder.

"Stop!" Shouted Matthew, who has just arrived. He kicked Orochimaru in the back, but the Sannin grabbed his foot.

"You're all idiots. I'll kill you all slowly.. except this Uchiha."

Michael saw his opportunity and shot seeds at Orochimaru like bullets.

Orochimaru flinched and continued hurting Austin's arm, careful not to break it to the point of it being irreparable.

Austin cried out. "Sasuke, help!" He yelled.

He was weak. He always needed his brother's help with everything.

He remembered when he was being bullied by some other academy students, and his brother came to help him.

Weak.

He yelled furiously and elbowed Orochimaru in the face. "No!" He shouted.

Orochimaru released him, breathing heavily.

Austin held his arm and glared at Orochimaru.

"But seriously... are you okay?" Austin asked. "I mean, I want to be the one to kill you, not some disease." He tried not to move his arm.

Michael and Matthew stood in front of Austin.

"Go get team 7, Austin. We can hold him off." Matthew said. Austin shook his head.

"I can still fight!" Austin exclaimed.

"We need your brother especially." Mathew told him. "Even Naruto can be useful."

Michael looked at him. "What about Sakura?" He asked.

"I mean, she might help..." Matthew shrugged.

Austin reluctantly ran off.

Orochimaru grinned. "That team won't be able to hurt me. I may be at a fraction of my power, but I can still destroy all of you."

"Michael, can you guard us for a while? Maybe we can wait him out." Matthew said quietly.

"You can't wait me out." Matthew heard a voice from right beside him- Orochimaru had stretched his neck out until he had his head right beside Matthew and Michael.

Matthew and Michael jumped back as the neck retracted. "I am immortal. You cannot kill me."

Lexie wondered why she was helping Kabuto. Kabuto directed her towards the exit as he regained control of his chakra. Soon, he walked completely by himself.

"Why are you abandoning Orochimaru?" Lexie asked.

"I don't know... I-I think I might like you." Kabuto said.

"You like-like me?"

"Y-yeah, whatever you call it." Kabuto replied.

They continued walking.

"You're not lying, are you?" Lexie asked him suspiciously. She looked at him dangerously. "If you lay a finger on any of my friends, I will personally kill you."

Kabuto looked at her curiously. "I doubt you could do that."

"I doubt that you like me." Lexie said to him.

Kabuto laughed and shook his head.

Austin ran through the hallways and looked for his brother's team. He noticed a figure across the hallway.

"Hey! Kakashi!" He shouted. Kakashi turned to look at him.

"Austin, where are your teammates?" Kakashi asked.

"F-fighting Orochimaru!" Austin exclaimed. He winced as his arm touched his side.

"Is Arrion with them?" He asked.

"No, he isn't! Where are your students, anyway?"

"Somewhere in here. I need to find them."

"Well, Matthew and Michael need help! Come on!" Austin exclaimed.

Kakashi nodded and followed him.

Orochimaru looked at Matthew in surprise.

"It's you. The little Senju. I never would have thought that you were him."

  
  
Chapter 17: Wood you like a cookie?  
Summary:

secrets be reveal and i just moved into a new house so i told awesomesaucegames to write it and i changed it a bit

  
  
Notes:

I tried to make a pun. Get it? Because Senju wood release and Austin's cookie?

  


Michael looked over at Matthew. “Senju?”

Matthew swatted one of Orochimaru’s attacks away. “No time to explain.” He then jumped up and used a fire style jutsu on Orochimaru, which minorly affected him.

Orochimaru smiled at his efforts. “Kid, you’ll have to try harder than that.”

Matthew smiled back. “Hehe...bring it on!” Matthew then nudged Michael and said, “Get Austin and whoever he comes back with and get out! I’ll hold him back.”

Michael refused. “But, what if…”

Matthew then looked back, his eyes transforming to that of a snake’s. “OUT.”

Michael nodded and ran off to find Austin.

Matthew blocked Orochimaru’s attacks, and the ones that did hit him did minor damage. “Come on, little Senju...come to your papa…”

Matthew screamed, “YOU’RE NOT MY DAD!” He ran towards Orochimaru, but the Sannin disappeared. Matthew took the time to escape, and evacuate the rest of his group.

Lexie and Kabuto exited the hideout at last, breathing in the fresh air for the first time in a while. Lexie noticed the two teams gathered at the other exit, so she led herself and Kabuto to follow them.

Michael sighed in exhaustion. “So...why did he call you Senju? How does he know you?”

Matthew gathered everyone, then admitted, “You see, when I was young, Orochimaru sealed a snake inside of me as an experiment. It's kind of like a tailed beast, but not as strong."

Kabuto nodded silently and pushed on the bridge of his glasses. “I do remember that, as a matter of fact." He seemed to shudder.

Lexie then stared at Kabuto. “Don't call him Lord Orochimaru, it sounds like you're still with him."

Kabuto snorted, and was opening his mouth to answer, but Lexie cut him off. “That doesn't warrant a response." She said.

Austin commented, “Wow, that’s not good, Matthew.”

Michael sat, looking like he was reflecting on something. “...”

Lexie and Lucien jumped in unison. “And why do you have snake eyes?” They looked at each other. “Hey, we said the same thing! How weird!”

Matthew then started to panic. “Wait, my eye?!”

Michael then got up and softly asked, “Why’re you panicking?”

Matthew replied, “This means the monster is being released!”

Austin got up to examine Matthew’s eye. “The seal must be really weak!”

Matthew panicked further. “It is!”

  
  
Chapter 18: A metal link  
Summary:

Short flashback chapter because I didn't have much time

  


Orochimaru woke up and looked around. He was in a room with stone walls and he was very cold.

"Kabuto!" He shouted, getting up. The room was quiet, signaling that his subordinate was no where in the room. He decided to go find him, them remembered the events of the day before.

He groaned. Kabuto probably went with that Hyuga test subject. He shook his head and went to see if Kabuto was anywhere in the hideout.

Orochimaru thought of when he had first seen Matthew.

It was Orochimaru's first successful Senju cloning attempt, and he was excited to see what the clone could do. He rushed towards the room, but was stopped by a very young Kabuto.

"H-he's only a toddler, Lord Orochimaru. Make sure not to upset him or anything." Kabuto said. Orochimaru nodded.

"I merely want to see him." Orochimaru replied.

Kabuto stepped aside and the Sannin walked into the room.

Matthew grinned at him. "Hello!" He greeted him loudly. "I'm Matthew!" Matthew got up and walked unsteadily over to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru frowned at him. "Matthew. Strange name."

"Very strange!" Matthew agreed. He actually had no idea what a normal name meant. He reached out a hand to shake hands with Orochimaru.

Orochimaru shook his hand. "I am Lord Orochimaru." He told the child.

"Are you my father?" Matthew asked. "Big brother told me a story and the boy in the story had a father!"

Orochimaru looked at Matthew. "Is your big brother him?" He pointed at Kabuto.

"Well, he didn't tell me that he wasn't when I called him big brother, so I guess he is!" Matthew exclaimed.

Kabuto sighed as Orochimaru glared at him.

Matthew picked up a metal block and showed one side to Orochimaru.

"Look, it's a square! Big brother told me what shape it was!" He told the Sannin.

Orochimaru picked up Matthew. "Yes, it is a square." Orochimaru said wisely. Matthew laughed as he was carried out of the room.

Kabuto followed them, feeling the need to protect the small child from the cruel world.

Matthew sighed. He put his head on his knees. There was no way he could sleep with all of his thoughts swirling around-memories of metal cubes, stone walls, needles- and worst of all, the weakened seal.

  
  
Chapter 19: The big world  
Summary:

Kabuto has bittersweet flashbacks...

  
  
End Notes:

Poor Kabuto...

  


Kabuto glanced at Matthew. "Do you remember me, Matthew?" He asked.

Matthew looked down. "Sort of... you acted like my older brother, didn't you?"

Kabuto nodded and sighed. His affection for the small child had almost led to his death.

Kabuto picked up the 3-year-old and threw him into the air.

Matthew squealed with glee and laughed. "I'm flying!" He shouted.

Orochimaru frowned at the two. Matthew had just a been injected with a needle, and Kabuto acted like he fell out of a tree and landed in a pit of boiling water and sharks.

Matthew was put down, so he walked over to Orochimaru and pulled on his robe.

"Hungry!" He exclaimed.

Orochimaru looked at Kabuto. "Feed it." He commanded.

Kabuto picked up Matthew again and carried him away from Orochimaru. He contained his anger at his master, and carried Matthew to his room.

"Stay here." He told Matthew. Matthew nodded and picked up his blocks. He liked to build forts and knock them down.

The fort that he built before was just a tall pile of blocks. He couldn't reach the top, so he wanted to get Kabuto to help him.

Kabuto came back with some brown oatmeal and some sugar, which he stirred into the oatmeal. He wasn't supposed to sweeten the oatmeal, but Matthew hated the bland taste.

Matthew accepted the food and ate it quickly.

"Can you help?" He asked, pointing at his tall tower of blocks.

Kabuto picked him up and helped him place a few blocks on top.

Suddenly, Kabuto had a great idea.

"Do you want to go see the outside?" Kabuto asked quietly.

"Outside? Like the boy in the story?" Matthew replied. Kabuto nodded and picked him up.

"Maybe we could sneak out and see the outside!" Kabuto whispered excitedly. He was only 9 years old, but he had no idea how this idea would affect both children's lives.

Matthew wiggled excitedly. "Come on, big brother! Let's go!" He exclaimed. Kabuto shushed him and opened the door, leaving the room.

Kabuto carried Matthew to where he knew to be the exit of the hideout- a small opening at the end of a small staircase that led to the big outside world.

Matthew wiggled around and tried to reach for the strange light as he was carried up the stairs. Kabuto held the toddler's hands to make him stay still, and he made it through the exit.

He put Matthew on the ground outside. Matthew got up and blinked as his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight above his head, in the big blue space that was the sky. Grass rustled and leaves blew in the wind as a small child watched silently, his mouth open in an o shape.

Kabuto grinned. "It's warm and bright out here!" He said to Matthew.

"It's so big... are those trees?" Matthew asked.

Kabuto nodded and sat down next to Matthew.

"We've got to get inside before Lord Orochimaru noticed we're gone." Kabuto told Matthew.

"Too late." A snakelike voice said from behind them. Orochimaru grabbed Kabuto's neck and shook him.

Kabuto coughed. "I just.. wanted him to... see the outside.." He said weakly. Orochimaru put him down and picked up Matthew.

"Kabuto, you are not to spend time with this child ever again." He told Kabuto. Matthew scrunched up his face and cried.

"No! Want big brother! BROTHER!" He shouted. Orochimaru glared at him and the child fell silent.

Kabuto sulked as he walked into the hideout. Matthew watched with fear and sadness as he saw a single tear slip from Kabuto's eye, which was immediately wiped away.

"Put down! Father! Put me down!" Matthew exclaimed angrily, kicking and wiggling. Orochimaru picked him up by the neck.

"I'm about done with you, child. I can make a different clone if I need to." Orochimaru stated threateningly.

Kabuto clenched his teeth and balled up his fists, but continued walking.

He never looked back after that day. He stoically carried out his assignments and almost never saw Matthew again.

Matthew looked at Kabuto as he clenched his fists.

"I could have saved you... could have set you free in the outside world that one day..." Kabuto said sadly. "I was a horrible brother..."

  
  
Chapter 20: Sealing and Crystals  
Summary:

The snake is sealed.

  


Orochimaru picked up the small child, frowning as the 4-year-old struggled.

"No! Tired, dad!" Matthew wanted to nap, but Orochimaru had other plans.

Orochimaru ignored Matthew's cries of protest. He aimed to seal a snake in Matthew to see if it would act like a tailed beast.

Orochimaru carried Matthew to a small room, then set him down on a table.

"I'll be right back, child." Orochimaru told Matthew. He walked out of the door, which he locked.

Matthew tried to sleep on the table, but it was too stiff. He sighed and kicked his legs.

Orochimaru pulled Kabuto along. Kabuto wondered what he was doing, but went with Orochimaru willingly.

Kabuto gasped as he saw Matthew sitting on a table. He tried his best to keep an impassive expression on his face, but failed somewhat.

"Big brother! Where'd you go? I missed you!" Matthew shouted, trying to hug Kabuto. Orochimaru glared at him, causing him to settle down.

"Kabuto, I have developed a new sealing jutsu that allows a summoned beast to be sealed inside a human." Orochimaru told Kabuto. "I want you to be here to see it."

Kabuto stuttered, "B-but he's only a child, L-lord Orochimaru..."

"So was Naruto Uzumaki, nine-tails jinchuuriki." Orochimaru said calmly.

Matthew reached out and Orochimaru allowed Kabuto to pick Matthew up. Matthew giggled and rested his head on Kabuto's shoulder.

"Be prepared to heal the child if anything goes wrong." Orochimaru ordered. Kabuto put Matthew down and nodded.

"Be good, okay?" Kabuto said to Matthew. He stepped away from the table as Orochimaru approached. Kabuto stood with medical jutsu ready as his master prepared to seal a small snake into Matthew.

The small snake slithered out from Orochimaru's sleeve and coiled up in his hand. He placed it on Matthew, who squirmed and tried to remove it.

"Stay still." Orochimaru snapped, hitting him in the face. Matthew fell silent and closely watched the snake.

Orochimaru made the specific hand signs, then shouted, "Sealing Jutsu! Contract Summoning Seal!"

Matthew screeched as the snake seemed to liquify and seep into his skin, burning like hot metal. The burning pain spread though his body as the snake took root. Tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Big brother!" He shrieked. Kabuto ran over and held him in his arms.

"It's okay, Matthew... it's okay..." Kabuto whispered. Orochimaru took Matthew from him.

"You're too soft, Kabuto. Let the child deal with it himself." Orochimaru snapped at him, putting Matthew back on the table.

Matthew sobbed and shuddered as Kabuto could do nothing but watch. Kabuto wished that he could be anywhere but in the stuffy room with the crying child at this point in time.

Orochimaru glanced at Kabuto. The silver-haired ninja was biting his lip and seemed to be ready to leap forward and help Matthew the second anything went wrong.

Matthew fell still and Kabuto lunged forward. "Are you okay? Matthew?" He exclaimed. Kabuto grabbed his wrist and checked his pulse. The child's pulse was very quick and erratic, but it seemed like he was okay.

"Take him to his room, Kabuto." Orochimaru commanded. Kabuto silently picked Matthew up and exited the room that would forever haunt him.

Austin jumped in front of Kabuto and yelled, "Boo!" Kabuto glared at him, but looked back at Matthew. No matter how old he was, Matthew was still his little brother.

Kabuto looked at Arrion, whose gaze seemed like bullets. He wondered why Arrion was angry at him, and decided to ask. Before he could open his mouth, though, Arrion had gotten up and sat in between Matthew and Kabuto. The Jonin seemed to shield Matthew from Kabuto.

Kabuto glared at him. "Why are you acting so hostile?" He asked.

"Don't you remember me, Kabuto? The crystal ninja?"

  
  
Chapter 21: Wood meets Crystal  
Summary:

Matthew gets to go outside again! Nothing bad happens, I PROMISE you.

  
  
End Notes:

this was absolute torture to write and i wish i could say that i will never hurt kabu ever again

  


Kabuto scowled. "That clan that kept raiding our hideouts? Wait... you're not... Arrion?"

"Yes, I am Arrion." Arrion replied. "The one who freed Matthew from you."

Kabuto glared at him. "He was my little brother... Orochimaru was letting me spend time with him... He tortured me... because of you!" He said to Arrion.

The small child was led through the hallways by Kabuto. Orochimaru had allowed Kabuto to take Matthew outside, but if either one of them went missing, Kabuto would spend some time in the torture room.

He wouldn't let Matthew out of his sight, so he didn't have anything to worry about. Matthew didn't seem to have any reactions to the snake sealed inside of him, so Kabuto was convinced that the experiment had failed and the small child was okay.

Matthew giggled as he was carried up through the exit and placed in the grass. The grass was wet with dew, so he got up as to not get too wet. He grinned at Kabuto and picked up a blade of grass.

He stared at the grass, running his finger over the blade. It felt smooth and slick, and he crushed it in between his fingers.

Kabuto smiled and squatted beside Matthew as the small child held many small, green blades of grass. Matthew stared at them.

"Do they have feelings, big brother?" Matthew asked.

Kabuto thought for a moment. "Possibly. I doubt it, however." He told Matthew.

Matthew nodded. "Okay... what about father? Does he have feelings?"

Kabuto looked at the ground and considered the question.

"Orochimaru... he's a unique case. No one really knows what goes on in his mind... but I know for a fact that he has feelings." He answered.

Matthew grinned. "Then maybe he can be good!" He exclaimed.

Kabuto shook his head and plucked a yellow flower off of the ground. He thought for a moment, then showed Matthew the flower.

"This flower is yellow, right?" Kabuto asked.

Matthew nodded and studied the flower.

"But you can't change that it's yellow." Kabuto said. "There's something different about Orochimaru. Since nothing really caused him to be evil, we can't fix it. It's in his mind- he's something called a psychopath."

Matthew nodded. "So he's just not nice and we can't fix it..." He said, thinking.

Kabuto sat in the grass. He scanned the landscape for anything that was a possible threat, and saw nothing. He got up and followed Matthew as the small child headed towards a puddle of water.

Matthew leapt into the puddle, slipping and falling on his leg. He screeched and held his leg.

Kabuto ran and picked Matthew up. He looked at his leg worriedly, and noticed that it was obviously broken. Matthew sobbed and clung to Kabuto.

A young Arrion crept through the bushes near the hideout, scouting out any weak points in the location. Suddenly, something caught his eye- a teenager holding a small child who was crying and obviously had a broken leg. The child was soaked and had a few scratches.

Arrion's fists clenched. How dare that low-life hurt such a young child, he thought. He watched as the teenager carried the injured child back towards where the entrance must have been. His blood boiled as he watched and waited for an oppurtunity to jump out and take the child.

He looked closer and realized that the teenager was Orochimaru's assistant, Kabuto Yakushi. He had been known to be ruthless and sadistic just like his master. This only made Arrion more determined to get the child away from Kabuto.

Arrion decided to strike immediately, and he rushed out of the bushes. Kabuto gasped and leapt out of the way, keeping a tight grip on Matthew.

"H-he needs help! Let me take him back home!" Kabuto shouted.

"He sure does if he's with you, Yakushi. Hand him over and there will be no need to resort to violence." Arrion told him coldly.

Kabuto clenched his teeth. "I won't give him to you, crystal ninja." He said to Arrion.

"Why? Will your lord be disappointed?" Arrion sneered.

Matthew clung to Kabuto. "D-don't let him take me, big brother!" He exclaimed.

Kabuto held Matthew tightly. He breathed deeply.

"He's my little brother and I will NOT give him to you." Kabuto told him calmly.

"What did you do to his leg?" Arrion asked accusatorially.

"He slipped and fell." Kabuto told him. "Today is his birthday and Lord Orochimaru allowed me to take him outside."

Arrion smirked. "Liar." He said, stepping forward. "You hurt him really badly. What did he do to you, kid?"

Matthew shook his head and buried his face in Kabuto's shirt.

"See, he doesn't wanna talk about it!" Arrion exclaimed.

Kabuto growled as Arrion took a step forward.

"One more step and you're dead." Kabuto spat. Arrion made multiple hand signs.

"Crystal style! Trap of reflection jutsu!" Arrion shouted. Crystals sprung up around Kabuto and arched above him, sparkling with sunlight.

Kabuto put Matthew on the ground and protected him with his body, making sure that Matthew was safe. He wouldn't let them take Matthew, and he would die before Matthew was hurt.

Matthew squeaked and tried to get up. "I can protect you, big brother!" He exclaimed. Kabuto shook his head.

Arrion seemed to phase through the crystal. "Crystal paralysis jutsu!" He shouted. Kabuto's arms and legs were encased in crystal.

Kabuto sighed. "J-just let him go. You can take me, I'll just put Matthew back in the hideout and come back out." He pleaded.

Arrion pulled Matthew out from under Kabuto and held him tightly.

Matthew flailed around. "No! Put me down now!" He shouted. He didn't care how bad his leg was hurt, he wouldn't be taken by the ninja.

Kabuto reached out for Matthew, but Arrion increased the weight of the crystals and his arm fell to the ground.

"I'm saving him from Orochimaru. If you love him so much, you should be happy." Arrion said.

Kabuto let his face fall to the ground as he sobbed. He failed to protect his brother and would be tortured by Orochimaru.

"Kill me..." Kabuto begged. "...just kill me here. It'll be better than what Orochimaru will do to me."

Arrion's face softened for a moment, but he looked away. "I'll take care of him." He said to Kabuto. "Besides, you're getting what you deserve for hurting this child."

Kabuto tried to grab a kunai. He shifted his arm, but couldn't move it far enough.

The crystals around Kabuto disappeared, leaving Kabuto trapped on the ground. He could only watch helplessly as Arrion walked away with his brother in hand.

Matthew screeched and flailed around, trying to bite Arrion or scratch him or do anything to make him put him down. Nothing worked.

Later that day, Matthew curled up in a pile of sand and sobbed in the crystal ninja camp. He wanted his big brother to tell him that it was okay, that he could make it.

Arrion tried to feed him some fruit, but gave up when the child buried his head in the sand and yelled at him.

"We found a place for the child. We'll disguise him as the long lost twin of the Leaf Jinchuuriki- the Leaf should be okay with it." Matthew overheard someone say. He didn't know who this Jinchuuriki was, but he didn't want any part in it.

A few weeks later, Matthew was face to face with his "twin". Naruto smiled and hugged him, but Matthew stayed silent and let Naruto hug him. He wanted his big brother, and some fake brother would never be the same as Kabuto.

  
  
Chapter 22: Attack On Arrion  
Summary:

Kabuto gets angry

  
  
Notes:

Already made this joke but whatever

  


"Well, I wouldn't have taken Matthew if you weren't evil!" Arrion retorted. He stuck his tongue out at Kabuto.

Kabuto growled at him. "I wasn't evil! I have no choice! Do you even know what Orochimaru did to me because you took my little brother?"

Arrion shook his head.

"I was barely alive all because of you. At the very least, you could have killed me when I begged you to!" Kabuto shouted at him.

Matthew looked at Kabuto. "S-settle down!" He said quietly to Kabuto.

Kabuto got up and sat between Arrion and Matthew. "Don't you dare get any closer to Matthew." He said threateningly.

"It's not my fault that you're stupid and made bad life choices."

Kabuto took a deep breath.

"And you're weak-minded, too. You let yourself be controlled by that old snake."

Kabuto leapt up and kicked Arrion in the stomach, shocking Arrion. He grabbed the Jonin by the neck and squeezed his throat.

"Put him down!" Michael shouted, protecting his sensei. He grabbed Kabuto's leg with a vine, but Kabuto kept strangling Arrion.

"This is for the torture you put me through! You kidnapped my little brother!" Kabuto shook Arrion and threw him to the ground.

Arrion got up and punched Kabuto in the face.

"Crystal style! Crystal spear jutsu!" Arrion shouted as a spear made of crystal appeared in his hand. He prepared to attack Kabuto.

Lexie ran over to the fight and pulled Kabuto away as Arrion struck. She flinched as the spear stabbed her arm.

Arrion gasped and ran over to Lexie. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Kabuto growled at him. "Back up." He said dangerously.

Arrion moved back as Kabuto began healing Lexie's arm. He put his hand on Matthew's shoulder, but was shrugged off as Matthew ran over to Lexie and Kabuto.

Austin and Michael also went to help Kabuto, with team 7 curiously approaching.

"Austin, are you okay?" Sasuke called. Sakura walked directly beside Sasuke, while Naruto was separate from the group. Kakashi walked in the back with a concerned look on his face.

"Matthew!" Naruto shouted, running over to Matthew. "Everyone okay?"

Kakashi walked over to Arrion. "Don't worry, he's not going unpunished for his crimes for long. No matter how much he cares for Matthew, he's still a criminal and lucky that he's not tied up right now." He reassured his friend.

Arrion nodded and the spear disappeared. He watched as Kabuto healed Lexie's arm and helped her up.

"Stay away from Lexie and Matthew. Don't talk to them, don't look at them." Kabuto commanded.

"I'm Matthew's sensei. I can talk to him if I want to." Arrion retorted.

Kakashi placed a hand on Arrion's shoulder. "Let it go." He said quietly. "You obviously caused him a lot of pain in the past."

Arrion gritted his teeth and walked away.

"Are you okay, Lexie?" Kabuto asked.

Lexie nodded and stretched. She got up and glared at Arrion. "If you hurt Kabuto without any reason- because I know he deserves it sometimes- I will personally kill you."

Arrion shrunk back, but almost immediately straightened up and replied.

"I doubt that you can kill me. What are you, 10?" He replied.

"14." Lexie told him. "I'm almost as strong as Kabuto, under Orochimaru's training."

Arrion's eyes brightened. "What did he teach you? Can you teach me?!" He exclaimed.

"I won't teach you anything."

Arrion seemed to deflate.

  
  
Chapter 23: SHIPpuden  
Summary:

The title explains it

  
  
Notes:

Chapter name credit to real life Austin! He's been nervously refreshing the page and waiting for hours only to realize that I was practicing my trumpet.

Also to Arrion- PLEASE DON'T KILL ME OR KABUTO IN YOUR ANGER (kill anyone else, preferably the little Uchiha)

  


Naruto burst into Ichiraku ramen. He had a look of pure terror on his face as he hid under Austin's chair.

Austin looked at Naruto confusedly as Sakura ran into the shop.

"Where's Naruto?! He totally ruined my chances with Sasuke!" She shouted.

Kabuto turned around and stared at her. "There happen to be two dates occurring right now. Even Naruto wouldn't interrupt a date." He told her calmly.

Sakura huffed and took her murderous rampage elsewhere, and Naruto climbed out of his hiding place.

"Phew... thanks for saving me, guys!" Naruto exclaimed. He grinned and ran off.

Ino sighed. "Naruto is SO annoying." She said.

"He's definitely unique, to say the least." Lexie said to Ino.

Austin grinned and finished his ramen. He slammed the bowl down and relaxed.

Kabuto finished his ramen next, carefully pushing his bowl away.

Lexie threw her bowl in the air and caught it an inch above the counter, eliciting a gasp of surprise from passersby.

Ino put her bowl on the counter and pushed it away like Kabuto did.

"So, uh... what do we do on a date?" Austin asked.

"I don't know... kiss?" Ino replied.

Austin walked Ino home and blew her a kiss as she entered her home, but he slammed into a pole.

He got up and rubbed his head. The leaves swirled around him as he headed home.

Kakashi sidled over to Arrion. "So.. are you doing anything this weekend?" He asked.

Arrion shook his head. "Why?"

"You wanna... y'know, go on a date?" He asked nervously.

Arrion started and looked at Kakashi. "W-what? I-I didn't think you liked me that way..."

Kakashi looked down. "Guess not, then." He said sadly.

Arrion put a hand on his shoulder. "No, it's not that! I was just surprised that you felt the same way..."

Kakashi nervously grinned under his mask. "So... Saturday at Ichiraku?" He confirmed.

Arrion nodded. "It's a date, then." He answered nervously.

  
  
Chapter 24: Ino, where'd you go??!?????  
Summary:

Ino is missing, and Austin is convinced that he has the answer to where she's been!

  
  
Notes:

Based off of a true story in which real life Austin protected a scrap of paper labeled "Ino" for the entire school day.

I have a feeling that a Kabuto paper will be coming my way soon at school...

  


Austin screamed in anguish. He stared at the piece of paper. On it, it said "Ino".

"Who did this to you???" He cried, carefully picking up the rectangle of paper.

He carefully ran over to Ino's house and knocked on the door for about 20 minutes.

Ino was not there.

He ran down the sidewalk through the village and spotted Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru! Have you seen Ino?!" He shouted.

Shikamaru started and looked at Austin with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Why? Is she okay?" Shikamaru asked.

"I think she's been turned into this paper!" Austin carefully held out the paper.

Shikamaru snorted. "What a drag..." He mumbled, chuckling to himself.

"Hmmph. You don't care about your teammate?" Austin asked.

Shikamaru laughed at Austin, knowing that the paper was simply an envelope that was sent from Ino.

"Have fun with that." Shikamaru said to Austin before walking away.

Austin looked down at the envelope. "I'm gonna turn you back into your beautiful self, Ino!" He pledged. "Because that's my new nindo, my ninja way!"

The envelope didn't change at all, and Austin carefully slid it into his bag. He grinned as he ran off to ask his friends for advice.

Kabuto sighed and took his glasses off, massaging his forehead. "Austin, it's just an envelope. I can't give you my "scientific opinion" on how to turn this girl back because she has not turned into this envelope."

Austin smiled. "Thanks for your scientific opinion! I'm gonna go ask Lexie for her's too!"

After a long day of searching for a way to restore Ino, he decided to head home. On the way, he spotted Lee and Gai training together. He walked up to them.

"Hello! I need some help!" Austin told them.

"Oh! We'd be glad to help! Isn't that right, Lee?" Gai exclaimed.

Lee grinned and gave Austin a thumbs up. "Yes! We will surely solve your problem with our youthful enthusiasm!" He shouted excitedly.

Austin nodded. "Ino's been turned into this paper!" He exclaimed.

Gai carefully took the paper from his hands. "Lee! We have a mission!" He told his student.

"Yes, Gai-sensei!" Lee grinned, eyes sparkling. He leapt into the air. "We will save Ino!"

Austin was a bit creeped out by their enthusiasm, but he grinned at them anyway. "Let's investigate!" He shouted.

Neji and Tenten showed up and looked at the piece of paper.

"...you're an idiot." Neji said. He picked up the envelope.

Austin squeaked and tried to grab the Ino paper out of Neji's hands, but Neji ripped open the envelope.

Austin gasped and pointed at him. "You- you killed her!" He shouted angrily.

Neji pulled out a cookie and another paper. "This wasn't Ino in the first place, fool. It says here that she is shopping. Do you understand the concept of mail?"

Austin gasped. His eyes sparkled and he grinned. "Then Ino is okay?!" He exclaimed.

"Most likely." Neji said, handing the cookie and the note to Austin. "Please think before you fly into a panic next time."

Austin ate his cookie as Lee and Gai danced around him merrily. Neji and Tenten sighed and watched them.

Kabuto put his head on his desk. This whole thing was a mistake. He shouldn't have left the sound. Orochimaru would kill him if he went back...

But it would be better than waiting for Orochimaru to kill both him and Lexie.

He was being selfish. It was his life or many lives, including him and Lexie, all for a few weeks of happiness. It was time he went back- whatever he had to endure, it would be better than Lexie dying or being tortured next to him.

He packed his bags. Tomorrow, he would make his move.

  
  
Chapter 25: The Helmet  
Summary:

Kabu leaves, and I cried while writing it.

  
  
Notes:

So I couldn't sleep so I made up roles for different LN characters and made cryptic riddles like "doesn't the Helmet deserve to be protected from himself?" and stuffs so Jeremy I am with a chapter I guess

Fun fact: I ate around 25 flour tortillas today because some waiter at a Mexican restaurant thought I couldn't.

  


Kabuto sighed and chewed on a pencil. He didn't know what to write, so he simply wrote:

I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. I'm leaving now and I won't come back. I don't want you to come after me and get hurt, so just stay here and pretend that I was never here.  
-Kabuto

Kabuto put the note on Lexie's door and started to walk away. He was stupid, to think he could stay with Lexie. Matthew almost died because of him. Shouldn't he have learned to leave others alone?

He hated himself for leaving, but he hoped Lexie understood. He didn't want her to be hurt because of him ever again.

Lexie woke up and stretched, getting up and walking downstairs. He expected to see Kabuto staring at a book or writing something at the table with coffee in hand, but she saw no one.

No one at all.

She decided that he had slept late, but she seriously doubted it.

Kabuto never, ever slept late.

She almost went back upstairs to try and find him, but saw a paper taped to the door out of the corner of her eye.

She slowly walked over to the note, fearing what she would find written there.

A sharp intake of breath was heard as Lexie read the note. When had he left? She wondered urgently.

Lexie pulled on a jacket and threw open the door, running outside in the grass.

"Kabuto! Kabuto?" She shouted, wandering through the area with a candle pushing away the early-morning darkness.

She began to panic. Why would Kabuto leave? Kabuto had seemed perfectly fine yesterday, but now he was gone.

Kakashi slurped up the last noodle in his bowl and pushed it away. Arrion grinned and quickly poured his piping hot second bowl into his mouth.

Kakashi laughed as Arrion choked on the hot broth. He was clearly filled up to the brim with sake, because otherwise he wouldn't have done something so stupid.

Kakashi grunted as he heard someone running towards them. He turned around and saw Lexie barreling frantically towards them.

"You've gotta help me! Kabuto's missing!" Lexie shouted at the top of her lungs.

She almost crashed into Arrion in her panic, causing the Jonin to fall off of his stool.

Lexie helped him up, apologizing swiftly before turning to Kakashi. "We need to find him! Please!" She begged, pulling on his arm.

"I'm kind of on a date..." Kakashi said quietly.

Lexie looked between him and Arrion. "...oh. I didn't know you guys felt that way towards each other..."

Kakashi turned to Arrion. "Let's go look for Kabuto, then." He said to his friend.

Arrion staggered behind them, prompting Kakashi to tell him to go home. Arrion complied and began the walk back to his house.

"So your boyfriend is missing? When did you last see him?" Kakashi asked.

"Yesterday, when we got back from Ichiraku. He went to his room silently. Then I wake up and see this note on my door." She handed Kakashi the note.

"Hm... did he have any reason to leave? Anyone threatening you because of him?"

"This may be about him leaving Orochimaru... maybe he thought Orochimaru would torture me if he found me and him." Lexie told Kakashi.

"A real possibility." Kakashi said, considering the idea of that being the reason. He really wanted to finish the current Makeout book he was reading, so maybe that was what he was actually thinking about.

"Well, are you gonna help?!" Lexie exclaimed. She paced around the room.

"I think we should let him go back. It's hard, but it's probably safer this way." Kakashi said reluctantly.

Lexie glared at him. "I'll find him by myself, then."

Kakashi crossed his arms. "You can't go out there alone to find some evil scientist that you like. You have Orochimaru and the Hyuga clan after you." He said condescendingly. "Stay here and the leaf will decide what we do."

"He's not evil! He tried to protect me!"

And thus the Helmet has departed on his journey to protect the Protector from the great evil, because doesn't everyone need protection, even if their goal themself is to protect?

  
  
Chapter 26: Lost in thoughts all alone  
Summary:

Austin gets very mad at certain other people because of certain other people.

  
  
Notes:

Yes, I did have to make a fire emblem reference despite never playing the games.

  


Kabuto sat in a tree, eating some food he had taken. Of course, he left enough money so Lexie could buy more of the food. He had some crackers and some cheese, which would hold him over until he got to Orochimaru.

Austin stretched and got up. He wrapped his thick, soft blanket around himself as he went to eat breakfast. Sasuke was still asleep, or so he thought.

He poured some cereal in a bowl and poured milk over it. He was excited to see Ino, so he quickly ate the cereal and threw it in the sink.

"I'm leaving, Sasuke!" He shouted as he ran outside into the beautiful morning.

Sasuke saw a flash of blonde hair and groaned. His brother's mindless girlfriend was about to spoil the whole operation.

Naruto pulled Sasuke behind a tree. "You won't find us here, Ino!" He shouted.

Ino looked over and stared at Naruto and Sasuke. "What are you idiots doing? Come out here!" She exclaimed.

Naruto and Sasuke walked out in front of Ino. "What do you want?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

"I wanna know what you're doing out here!" She demanded.

"We're going to find Kabuto!" Naruto told her. "Why don't you come?"

Sasuke sighed and looked down as Ino joined them on their journey to find the missing scientist.

-hours later-

"Naruto, I want you to go back to the village. Tell them you can't find me or Ino but you saw us going into the woods." Sasuke ordered.

"No way! I wanna help, so I can be Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed. "I've gotta help Lexie, too!"

Sasuke pushed him. "Go now, Naruto." He said.

Naruto stumbled back and started to say something, but failed to make any words come out of his mouth. He turned around and walked back to the village.

Sasuke waited until Naruto was out of sight, then looked at her.

He pulled out a kunai and held it to her throat. "You're not Ino, are you?" He asked the girl. "You haven't tried to get my attention for weeks! I know you're going to hurt Austin..."

Ino squeaked and pulled back. "N-no, I really like him... at least he has a personality!"

Sasuke stabbed her violently in the arm and threw her to the ground with incredible force. His face filled with horror when Ino didn't disappear into smoke like he thought she would.

"N-no way..." Sasuke bent down and checked her pulse- she was still alive.

"Why did I do this... why..." Sasuke mumbled as he frantically scrambled away from Ino. He was so stupid, he thought as he wondered if Ino was okay.

Austin spotted Naruto, and decided to go talk to him. As he made his way towards his friend, he noticed a slight panicked look on Naruto's face.

"Hey, what's up?" Austin asked.

Naruto replied nervously, "S-Sasuke. Ino. Forest..."

Austin shook Naruto. "Ino?! Where's she at? Why is she with Sasuke?"

"I think Sasuke... hurt her... or something." Naruto said breathlessly.

Austin's eyes narrowed. "Show me." He said dangerously.

-another few hours later-

Austin spotted a body ahead of him, and he sped up. His breath came in gasps as he ran towards Ino.

The girl was barely alive and her breaths were ragged as her arm bled onto the ground.

"Ino!" Austin exclaimed, holding her head in his arms.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "Why would Sasuke do this?" He exclaimed angrily.

"W-we've gotta get her to the village!" Austin shouted nervously. He picked her up and began walking, but he immediately realized that she was bleeding all over his shirt.

He ripped off his sleeve and Naruto helped him tie it on her arm. The wound was deep, cut down to the bone.

Sasuke sighed. He had killed an actual Leaf genin. Normally, it wouldn't bother him as much as this did.

He kept replaying the scene in his mind. He saw how Ino fiercely shook her head when he accused her of wanting to hurt Austin just for him. It had seemed so simple- Ino stopped chasing him, so it wasn't Ino and was obviously planning to hurt his brother.

He had hurt his brother. That was what really bothered him.

He had to get away from the Leaf before he was caught, and if anyone knew how to hide...

It was Kabuto.

He got up and began his search for Kabuto.

Some secrets are best left hidden, thinks the Helmet.

  
  
Chapter 27: Departure  
Summary:

Austin helps Ino and someone appears!

  
  
End Notes:

i'm sorry austin

  


Kabuto leapt through the trees and looked around for any other ninja. He was prepared to hide if he saw anyone.

He looked down and startled as he saw a little Uchiha tugging a blonde-haired girl along, with the nine tails following him.

He stopped as Austin looked up and looked around the branches.

Naruto caught sight of Kabuto's curious head peeking around the corner, and pointed.

"Hey, Kabu-whatever! Get down here! You caused all of this!" Naruto shouted.

Kabuto crouched down and came into clear view of the two genin. "What happened to the girl?" He asked.

"Sasuke hurt her because of you, believe it!" Naruto shouted at him.

Austin looked up at him, tears in his eyes. "Y-yeah! It's all y-your fault!" He said, trying to project his voice into a shout.

Kabuto leapt down in front of Austin and looked at Ino. "Huh. She seems to be hurt pretty badly... I guess I could heal her." He told Austin, acting aloof.

Austin reluctantly put Ino down. "If you hurt her... I'll kill you." He warned.

Kabuto crouched down and used medical jutsu on her bleeding arm. He studied the wound, noticing that a few of the girl's ribs were broken.

"Want me to heal her ribs, too?" Kabuto asked as the wound slowly closed up. Austin nodded suspiciously.

"Why are you helping me?" Austin demanded. "You upset Lexie and made Sasuke look for you for no reason!"

"You'll understand someday... if you're still alive." Kabuto said, starting to heal her ribs.

Naruto watched Kabuto. "You're pretty good at healing jutsu. Who trained you?" He asked.

Kabuto was quiet for a moment. "My mother." He said finally.

Naruto crossed his arms. "Well, where is she now? Can I see her?" He asked impatiently. "You've been acting very mean, and I'm sure she'd like to know!"

"She's dead, idiot... Nonō Yakushi, the wandering nun." Kabuto stated coldly and unemotionally.

Naruto's face fell. "Well, mine is too! Maybe they're friends now!" He exclaimed with a sudden change of mood.

Kabuto snorted. The nine tails was very cheerful for a demon.

"Well, I'd better get going. Keep an eye on her wounds, they may still be pretty sore." Kabuto said, starting to walk off.

"Hey! You're coming with us!" Austin exclaimed. He ran forward and tugged on Kabuto's sleeve. "Lexie will be so happy that you're back!"

Kabuto stopped where he was and turned around to look at Austin. "Little Uchiha, I am not going back to the Leaf." He told the child.

"Yes, you are!" Austin exclaimed. Naruto ran forward and grabbed his other arm and they tried to pull him back.

"Enough!" Kabuto yelled, shoving Naruto and Austin to the ground. "I'm going back... to Orochimaru... and no one will stop me..."

Austin helped Naruto up. "No! Lexie's really upset and stuff!"

Naruto nodded. "C'mon! She misses you, believe it!" He shouted.

Kabuto pulled out a kunai. "Keep it down, you might attract some real threats." He said condescendingly, all emotion leaving his voice once again.

Austin huffed angrily and pulled out a kunai to mirror Kabuto's.

"It'll take more than just a kunai to beat me!" Austin exclaimed confidently.

Naruto growled and pulled out a lot of shuriken, a few falling to the ground. "Yeah, I'll beat you! Believe it!" He shouted.

Kabuto watched Naruto curiously. The nine tails was not a threat, but he could be a bit dangerous. What really intrigued him was how he acted even though he was a demon.

Austin lunged at him and tried to stab him, but was kicked away. He hit a tree, but managed to get up.

"I'm not going to hurt you. That isn't my goal. Just take your girlfriend back to the village."

Naruto then ran at Kabuto, but the shuriken thrown at Kabuto were easily dodged. Kabuto grabbed his foot and forced him to the ground.

"I'm gonna come with you, then! Maybe I can can convince you to come back!" Austin exclaimed. "Ino can come too, and maybe we'll find Sasuke in the process!"

Kabuto sighed. "Fine. I can't guarantee you or your girlfriend's safety, but you can try to come with me. The nine tails stays at the village."

Naruto flailed and Kabuto pushed down on his back.

"Let Naruto go!" Austin exclaimed. Kabuto released Naruto.

"Run back to the village. Don't let on that anything is wrong." Kabuto told Naruto.

Naruto crossed his arms. "Now, wait a minute! I didn't come all the way out here twice to just be abandoned! You've been my friend since we were little, Austin!" He yelled. "You aren't going to Orochimaru! If I can't talk you out of it, I'll force you to come back!"

Austin quietly went and picked up Ino. "I have to do this. I can bring back Kabuto and Sasuke eventually." He said quietly. "Besides, I can be a cool spy!" He whispered the last part.

Arrion and his team looked around for Austin. He hadn't arrived at the scheduled training, and it was one hour after the time that he was told.

Asuma had reported that Ino Yamanaka was also missing. So was Sasuke Uchiha from Kakashi's team.

Arrion couldn't help worrying about how the 3 missing genin were linked. A child, his brother and his girlfriend go missing at the same time? That couldn't be a coincidence. With Kabuto also missing, the residents of Konoha had speculated that an outside force was murdering shinobi.

In a way, Orochimaru was.

\----------------------------------  
The Harvest: the only link between the Helmet and Protector.

The Fan, the Boar and the Harvest begin their new escapade.

  
  
Chapter 28: D-D-D-DRAMA!!!!  
Summary:

Kabu and Ino and Austin and WOWOWOW lots of new characters coming

  
  
Notes:

So I thought Kabuto was too nice in previous chapters...  
I actually like writing evil Kabu... so I guess thats a thing now

  
  
End Notes:

trust me it'll all make sense soon

the moment it all comes together...

you'll all be saying i'm a complete idiot.

that's not untrue...

  


Austin looked at Kabuto, who was sleeping in a tree near him. His instructions were to wake Kabuto up if anything happened. Austin then turned his gaze to Ino, who was laying on a nearby branch. She hadn't awoken yet, but she seemed to be stirring.

Austin leapt up onto Ino's branch. "Ino?" He exclaimed excitedly.

Ino groaned and rolled over- off of the tree. Her eyes snapped open as she began falling downward.

Austin leapt down and tried to catch her, but he felt a sharp pain in his arm that made him gasp for breath. He looked around as the pain threatened to render him unconscious.

"K-Kabuto!" Austin shouted, flailing in the air. He hit the ground with a thud, and Ino landed on top of him. The girl rolled off of Austin, starting to get up.

"Austin?" She asked, panicking. "When did we get here? What's going on? Are you okay?

Austin was quiet, making her more nervous.

Kabuto peeked around a branch, slightly alarmed. What he saw made him chuckle to himself.

"Get up!" Kabuto shouted.

Ino turned to look at him. "Help!" She shouted.

Kabuto smirked and jumped to the ground. "What happened to him, girl?" He asked.

"I fell off a tree and he fell too and he's hurt!" Ino exclaimed.

Kabuto picked Austin up. His arm seemed to be broken badly, and he had hurt his back.

"Huh. The arm injury couldn't have been caused by impact. It's broken too deliberately." Kabuto observed.

Ino reached for Austin. "If you're not going to heal him, put him down!"

Kabuto laughed. "I don't have to do anything. You're only here because he wanted you to be. Now, let's go."

Ino glared at him. "Hey, you were the one who broke his arm in the first place!" She exclaimed. "And you attacked me!"

Kabuto shrugged and motioned for her to follow him. He had no intention of releasing Austin, so Ino decided to follow him.

"You work for Orochimaru?" Ino asked.

Kabuto shrugged. "None of your business, little girl." He said, adjusting his grip on Austin and continuing forward.

He looked at Austin. This was the perfect opportunity- the perfect opportunity to hinder Orochimaru. If he killed the Uchiha right here, his master wouldn't have a backup plan if Sasuke didn't work out.

Ino crossed her arms and followed behind Kabuto, as he wrapped his hand around a kunai.

Kabuto pulled out the kunai, considering it for a moment.

He wasn't strong enough to kill his master, but this could be the first step towards his ultimate goal to become stronger than Orochimaru.

Kabuto held the knife tightly, and prepared to plunge it into Austin's back.

Ino looked over and almost screamed as she saw Kabuto's knife moving swiftly towards Austin.

The knife was stopped inches away from Austin by a carefully aimed shard of crystal to Kabuto's wrist. Kabuto jerked his hand ungracefully away from the sharp object, disrupting his plot.

Kabuto looked up and noticed movement in a nearby bush. He smirked as he threw a shuriken in the bush.

He heard a satisfying squeak as a ninja jumped out of the bush. The ninja glared at him.

"So it is you- Kabuto Yakushi! Everyone always says to watch out for you, but you don't look scary at all!" The ninja exclaimed.

"Crystal ninja. Disgusting individuals." Kabuto noted.

Ino stared at Kabuto. "Were you really going to kill him?" She asked nervously.

Kabuto paid no attention to the kunoichi. "I was under the impression that Lord Orochimaru killed you all." He stated calmly. "Either way, I'm much stronger than any crystal ninja."

"I'm Ryu Kessho, and I'm gonna kill you!" The crystal ninja- Ryu-shouted confidently.

Another ninja emerged from the brush along the path. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Ryu." She told Ryu.

Kabuto frowned. "How many more of this scum is there, other than Arrion?"

"Arrion?" Ryu asked, jumping up and down. "Is he okay? He's alive?"

The other ninja smiled a bit. "So he is alive..." She said quietly.

  
  
Chapter 29: Crystals can't last forever  
Summary:

Kabuto fights and Matthew notices something wrong...

  
  
End Notes:

I'm sorry, Arrion... at least Kabuto lost his ponytail?

  


"What brings you crystal ninja here?" Kabuto asked.

Hikari made a signal with her hand and 4 other crystal ninja stepped out from the woods. "We couldn't help but notice those children you're carrying. Hand them over."

Kabuto smirked. "You can't make me. You see, I'm stronger than all of you combined. I'm no longer the brat Arrion attacked." He stated.

"We'll see." Hikari said calmly. "Kyoko! Ryu! Kori! Habiki! Attack!"

Kabuto handed Austin off to Ino. "If you run off, I'll kill you both." He told her quickly before turning to face the attacking ninja.

Ino ran and hid in a bush, laying Austin next to her. She peeked through the branches and watched the battle intently.

Kabuto grabbed Habiki's arm and slung him into a tree. The boy grunted as he hit the tree, but got up after feeling the ground with his hands.

"What, are you blind?" Kabuto asked as Habiki steadied himself.

"Yes." Habiki answered loudly, running towards Kabuto.

"Great fireball jutsu!" Ryu shouted. A huge fireball hurtled towards Kabuto as the blind ninja charged him.

Kabuto smirked and rolled to the side, standing up and countering with a swift kick to Ryu's side, causing the crystal ninja to fall over.

"Do you want to die?" Kabuto asked. "Because I can arrange that."

Ryu gritted his teeth and got up, but Kabuto slashed his arm with a kunai.

"Weak." Kabuto said.

Hikari yelled and ran towards Kabuto, her fingersnails growing into sharp claws made of crystal.

"Crystal claw justu!" Hikari shouted, gracefully spinning in the air and cutting off part of Kabuto's ponytail.

Kabuto grunted and felt the back of his head, unhappy with the lack of hair there.

"Heh. You'll pay for that." Kabuto stated dangerously, turning to face Hikari.

Ryu got up. "I got 'em!" He shouted, landing a punch on the distracted ninja.

Kabuto grabbed his wrist and kicked his elbow, causing his arm to break at the elbow. He cried out as Kabuto kicked him in the stomach, throwing him to the ground.

"No!" Hikari shouted, enraged. Kori ran and stood beside her.

"Crystal style! Dual shards!" They both shouted. They held their palms out towards Kabuto and shot hundreds of sharp crystals at him.

Kabuto dodged to the side, but was hit by an attack from Habiki. It left a shallow cut on his arm that quickly closed up.

Habiki gulped as he sensed Kabuto's elbow flying towards his face, and tried to defend himself. The elbow hit the top of his head, and he stumbled a bit. Kabuto grabbed him by the neck and held him up.

"I'll be taking you all back to Lord Orochimaru, and if you have anything to say, please address it to this kunai that happens to be against this child's throat."

Kiyoko crawled through the bushes and found Ino and Austin.

"Come on, we'll get you out of here." Kiyoko said to Ino.

Ino looked at Austin. "I'm not sure, but I think he's traveling with this guy. I don't want to ruin whatever he's planning."

Kiyoko reached for Austin's arm, but Ino hit her hand away.

"His arm is broken badly." Ino told her quickly.

Kiyoko considered this. "And Kabuto Yakushi is a medical ninja, albeit an evil one." She said thoughtfully.

Matthew looked at his hair in the mirror.

"Naruto, have you ever noticed the blackish parts of my hair?" He asked worriedly.

Naruto got up and looked at his hair. "Wow! Did you dye your hair?" He exclaimed. "It looks pretty cool!"

Matthew stared at his hair, his eyes burning into his reflection. His eyes seemed to flash yellow, but only for one second.

  
  
Chapter 30: Voice  
Summary:

A lot of things happen. Matthew, Michael, Kabuto, Austin and Ino are the main characters currently...

  
  
End Notes:

sorry but ye this is what I meant

  


Naruto grinned nervously and hugged Matthew. "It's okay!" He told his brother.

Matthew shook his head. Austin was missing. That was all he could think about. Was it his fault? Did he have something to do with it? Naruto neglected to tell him the full story of what happened.

"Naruto... please, just tell me where Austin is..." Matthew begged.

"Well... okay... but you can't go after him if I tell you! Promise?" Naruto told him.

"Promise."

"Jinchuuriki promise?" Naruto asked. Matthew wasn't exactly a jinchuuriki, but pretty close. Matthew was the only child in the village who knew that his brother was the nine-tails jinchuuriki.

"Sure!" Matthew exclaimed, holding up one finger as Naruto held up his nine fingers. They hit each other's hands and both held up ten fingers.

It was just a clever thing that Naruto made up, but it stuck. Even though Matthew's beast didn't even have a tail, he had to hold up some number, and since 9 plus 1 is 10, they decided to give Matthew one finger to hold up.

Matthew grinned. "Okay, where's Austin?" He asked.

"He... he went with Kabuto. To Orochimaru. I don't know where Sasuke's going, but it seems like the same place..." Naruto explained nervously.

Matthew held his head in his hands. "B-but why? Why would he do that...?" He asked.

Matthew glanced up at the mirror by the bed where he sat.

Through tears, he spied eyes that were not his own. He looked down, and the sense of dread overwhelmed him as he looked at his hands, paler than usual. It was obviously stress, but...

Matthew knew he was wrong.

Austin woke up near a pile of people... sleeping? They were alive, yet not moving. There were a few his age, there was one bleeding from the arm...

He got up and went to investigate the pile. "Hello?"

"No use. They're not waking up anytime soon." Austin heard a voice say. He jumped back, and around this time noticed the strong pain in his arm. He looked behind him and saw Kabuto holding Ino with a kunai to her throat and a hand over her mouth.

"I'm not sure if you remember where you are or why you're here, but if you try to run, she'll be stabbed. Got it?" Kabuto said.

Austin gulped and nodded. "I remember... we're going to find Sasuke and go to Orochimaru..." he replied to Kabuto.

"Do I need to keep her here or can I put her down?" Kabuto asked.

"P-put her down... please... sir." Austin asked.

Kabuto placed Ino on the ground and let Austin help her up.

"W-who are they?" He asked, pointing at the pile.

"Scum. That's all they are. We'll bring them to Orochimaru, so he can use them however he pleases."

Michael put an arm around Matthew. "It's okey! We'll find Austin and bring him back to Konoha!" He said encouragingly.

Matthew looked down at his hands. He stared at them as they walked. Was the seal weakening, making him look similar to Orochimaru?

Michael looked at his hair. "Has your hair always had those black parts?" He asked curiously.

"No." Matthew said coldly.

"You still look a lot like the fourth Hokage." Michael observed.

Matthew nodded.

"Pick up some of them." Kabuto told Austin commandingly.

"B-but my arm is broken..." Austin complained.

Kabuto grabbed his arm. "We're almost there. All you have to do is pick two of them up." He twisted the child's arm.

Austin squeaked. "Okay! Okay, I'll do it!" He shouted suddenly. Kabuto smirked and let go of his arm.

"Pick it up." Kabuto commanded, pointing at Ryu.

"That's not an it!" Austin exclaimed.

Kabuto silenced him with a glare that could scare even Orochimaru. Austin quickly scrambled to pick Ryu up as Ino tried to help his arm.

"You too, girl. Pick 2 up. Austin, carry one more." Kabuto commanded, grabbing two of the bodies.

Austin stared at the last one, wondering how to pick her up. It was Hikari, the oldest one.

"C-can someone trade? My arm is kinda broken..." Austin said nervously, looking at Kabuto, who was holding a small, shrewd child.

"Pick the crystal ninja up. Now." Kabuto said impatiently.

Austin grimaced and whined as he tried to pick Hikari up. Picking someone up with a broken arm isn't exactly the nicest feeling.

Austin felt a tear leak out of his eye as he picked up the ninja with his broken arm. It felt like hot iron was injected into his arm.

Ino looked down as she struggled with the ninja she was carrying. She seemed quieter than usual, and hadn't spoken in a while.

"Let's go, then." Kabuto commanded, leaping into a tree. He wouldn't kill the Uchiha, but he would definitely torture him for as long as he could.

Austin looked concernedly at Ino. As he looked closer, he saw a cut on the side of her neck.

"I-Ino?" He asked nervously.

Ino looked at him, and tried to make a sound.

Kabuto smirked as Austin threw down the ninja and leapt at him furiously.

  
  
Chapter 31: Kabuto gets beaten up  
Summary:

Austin gets really mad

  
  
Notes:

After last chapter, real life Austin shouted "RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" and swore to destroy Kabuto for about an hour... well, I let him get his revenge on Kabuto.

  


Austin screeched and punched Kabuto squarely in the face. The medical ninja flew back as Austin's Sharingan activated in his fury.

"You took her voice!" Austin screamed. He grabbed Kabuto's arm.

Kabuto smirked and slashed his arm. Austin ignored the attack and ripped off Kabuto's glasses.

"Got your eyes!" He shouted, crushing the glasses. The glass dug into his palm, causing it to bleed.

Kabuto gritted his teeth. He grabbed Austin's broken arm and yanked on it. Austin screamed at him.

"Fire style! Great fireball jutsu!" Austin shouted, hurling a giant fireball at Kabuto from close range. The fireball singed Kabuto's hair as he dodged the attack.

"Calm down, little Uchiha." Kabuto said calmly, grabbing Austin's punches as they were thrown. He yanked up on his arms and then kicked him in the back, then threw him into a tree.

Ino leapt up to where Kabuto was and kicked him in the face, grabbing his throat.

Kabuto grabbed her hair and cut it off with a kunai, making both Austin and Ino even angrier.

"How dare you?!" Austin shouted, getting up and leaping to where Kabuto and Ino fought. He punched Kabuto in the chin, but he was unfazed.

"Heh... still weak. Both of you." Kabuto said calmly. "It's too late for you. Just in case you didnt notice... well, just look down."

Austin looked down just in time to see the hideout below him and the grotesque head and neck zooming towards him.

The head of Orochimaru.

The snakelike man bit his neck. He stumbled back as the curse mark started to take effect.

Kabuto grinned. "It's too late, little Uchiha. It's game over." He said smugly.

Kabuto, however, did not see Ino's foot shatter his jaw. Both him and Austin fell off of their branches, but Austin was the only one caught by Orochimaru. Kabuto hit the ground, and slowly stood up.

Orochimaru held the child in his arms. The Uchiha twitched as his body reacted to the sudden application of the curse mark.

Kabuto got up. He held his jaw as if regenerated, walking over to Orochimaru. "Whiny blonde... over there. Crystal ninja... in that clearing." He said painfully as his jaw healed.

Orochimaru nodded and inspected the Uchiha. The child flinched.

"Good work, Kabuto." Orochimaru said.

"Orochimaru..." a voice sounded from behind him. Orochimaru turned around and was face to face with Sasuke Uchiha.

"I'm here for my brother. Give him to me." Sasuke said dangerously.

Orochimaru laughed loudly. "Oh, Sasuke... today is my lucky day." He said joyfully.

Kabuto zoomed behind Sasuke and held a kunai to his neck. "Two Uchihas." He said, grinning.

Austin lashed out in his unrest, scratching Orochimaru's arm. Orochimaru looked down.

"What did you do to him before I bit him?" Orochimaru asked curiously.

"Whiny blonde girlfriend was being whiny. So I removed her voice." Kabuto explained.

Orochimaru nodded. "Reasonable." He said. He once again looked down at Austin, who was clenching his fists and twitching violently.

"Oh, dear. Looks like he's far too weak of a host for the curse mark. We still have Sasuke, however..." Orochimaru stated disappointedly.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "No! Austin!" He shouted.

Austin seemed to calm down a bit.

"Hm. Maybe he will survive. Maybe he'll be that 10%."

Kabuto didn't feel the 3 kunai that flew into his back until he was on the ground. Ino stood triumphantly in a tree, grinning.

'Austin! Are you okay?'

Through all of the confusion of the curse mark, Austin heard Ino communicating in his head.

'...Ino?'

As Austin descended into the curse mark's delirium, he heard Ino's soothing voice calming him. He could make it. He was okay.

  
  
Chapter 32: Arrival!!  
Summary:

They enter Orochimaru's hideout! Ino is there and Austin is there and Matthew descends further into... madness?

  
  
Notes:

I like how I'll have a really good deep chapter name and the next name is completely random

  
  
End Notes:

Also I may have triggered everyone in chapter 30 oops  
Like real life Michael is the only one not triggered  
Even I'm triggered

  


Orochimaru looked up at Ino. "I suppose you're the whiny blonde, then." He stated.

Ino crossed her arms. She looked like she wanted to say something witty, but couldn't and decided to settle for a death glare.

Orochimaru chuckled. "I see. Kabuto must have cut out your voice box. Did it hurt?" He asked.

Ino shrugged and watched angrily as Kabuto stood up and removed the kunai from his back.

She continued to comfort Austin through her mind. She didn't know how she was doing it, but Austin was definitely receiving her thoughts.

She decided to try and attack Orochimaru through his mind, focusing all of her energy on reaching the Sannin.

'Put him down!' She thought with incredible force. Orochimaru flinched a bit and looked closer at her.

"A member of the Yamanaka clan? You're the youngest Yamanaka to achieve this jutsu in a while." Orochimaru said nonchalantly. "Well, you may be useful in the future."

"The jutsu you're using is involuntary and doesn't involve any hand signs to use. It uses a steady stream of chakra to send these thoughts, and is believed to be activated in times of emotional strain. Those with a strong bond with the user can reply without loss of chakra." Kabuto explained.

'Thanks for giving me a short summary of what it does, idiot.' Ino thought to Kabuto.

She could feel chakra being drained from her as she did so, so she resolved to only use it to calm down Austin until her chakra was replenished.

Orochimaru shifted Austin around in his arms. "Come along, girl. You can stay with the little Uchiha."

Sasuke stood silently throughout the whole conversation, feeling guilty about stabbing Ino. He was angry at Kabuto for causing Austin to be in this situation, but he knew he was the one who caused it.

He followed Orochimaru and Kabuto voluntarily, looking behind him to see Ino slowly following.

"Look... I'm sorry." Sasuke said to her reluctantly.

Ino stayed focused on calming Austin down and ignored the other Uchiha. Austin seemed to be still, and wasn't responding to many of her thoughts.

'Ino, can you tell me what's going on?' Austin asked through thought after a while.

'We're in the hideout, heading to a room where you, Sasuke, me... and Kabuto... will stay.' Ino replied.

Austin seemed to struggle before thinking, 'W-with Kabuto? That meanie?'

Ino sent a sort of confirmation to Austin. It was nonverbal, but she thought he would understand.

'Look... there's this darkness... I don't think I can talk... for a while...' Austin thought to Ino after a few minutes.

Ino looked worriedly at the small Uchiha cradled in Orochimaru's arms. He always was smaller than his brother. She used to think he was weird and weak, but once she actually got to know him, he was really nice and funny.

Sasuke looked at Ino. "Is something worrying you about him?" He asked curiously. Ino shook her head. She didn't want to waste any more chakra on communicating with Sasuke.

Kabuto led them into a small room. He mumbled something under his breath and walked out. They heard something hit a wall and Kabuto cursing before Kabuto was out of hearing distance.

"Heh... who took his glasses?" Sasuke asked.

Ino pointed at Austin and showed Sasuke the shards of glass in Austin's hand.

"I see." Sasuke said.

Matthew ate some ramen with his brother, trying to act like he was fine and having fun. He laughed at Naruto's jokes and talked with him, but his heart wasn't really in the conversation.

He sighed and continued eating his bowl of ramen, concentrating on not showing that he wasn't enjoying the food.

Soon, the dinner of instant ramen was over. Matthew trudged upstairs and glanced at the mirror.

The face he saw in that split second was not his own.

He snapped his head back to the mirror, where he froze. He stared at the strange reflection in the mirror... until it slowly changed back to what it was before- slightly pale skin with black areas in his hair.

He sat down where he was and curled up into a ball, tears running down his face. Was that what he was becoming?

Was he going to become Orochimaru?

  
  
Chapter 33: Running.  
Summary:

Basically a chapter of absolute feels.

  
  
Notes:

I'm sad now poor everyone

  


Naruto hugged Matthew. "It's okay! What's wrong? It's going to be okay!" He said frantically to his sobbing brother. He didn't know what to do. Matthew had always been the one to hug him and cheer him up, so he tried to do what Matthew would do.

Matthew shook his head. "It's not... okay..." He mumbled. Matthew felt his hair. Not his own. Was he really Orochimaru? Or was the seal breaking? He refused to believe that he had any connection to Orochimaru other than the snake inside of him and the fact that Orochimaru cloned him.

And Austin. Where was Austin? Was it his fault? Was he a curse to everyone? He put on a smile for Naruto.

"It's nothing you need to be worrying about..." He said to Naruto.

'Hey! Numbskull!' Naruto heard in his head.

"Ino?" Naruto asked out loud. "Ino, where are you?" He shouted, looking under blankets and behind boxes.

'Listen, this takes up a lot of chakra, so I can't talk long. Sasuke, Kabuto and I are safe. Austin is-' Her thought was cut off sharply.

He felt Ino's presence leave his mind.

"Matthew! I just talked to Ino! Sasuke and Kabuto are okay!" He exclaimed.

"And Austin?" Matthew asked, fearing the answer.

"Ino didn't get to that part..." Naruto said with a bit less enthusiasm.

Matthew looked down. "How'd you even get to talk to Ino?" He asked.

"I have no idea! Must be some weird jutsu! Come on, we need to report this!" Naruto exclaimed.

Matthew was pulled up and dragged out of the room.

Kabuto frowned as he ate a chunk of bread. Ino seemed deep in concentration, her eyes closed tightly.

"What're you doing, idiot?" Kabuto asked. Ino kept concentrating.

That was when he realized what Ino was doing. She was probably telling someone exactly where she was. Kabuto leapt up and kicked her, interrupting her thoughts.

Ino got up and glared at Kabuto. Kabuto simply smirked and sat back down, resolving to keep a better eye on the girl.

Sasuke simply glared at both of them and sat near Austin. He looked at his little brother and sighed.

A man. They leapt through the sky. Their mask. It looked strange. Austin watched as the strange man leapt from building to building.

It was cold. Freezing. Ice. Maybe that was just the dread Austin felt, for he had been here once before. His mind screamed. Or was it even his mind?

The world froze. It began again. The air became thick. He saw his brother. Sasuke. Sad. Death. Mother. Father.

Itachi. Sasuke said it was him. Austin told him he saw a man. Sasuke didn't listen. Itachi.

Itachi. That was all Sasuke said in explanation that day. Itachi.

Austin's head pounded. Itachi? His brother?

Coward. Running. Austin and Sasuke were running. Their tears were also running.

Sweating. Cold. Shivering. Hot. Disbelief. How could Itachi do this?

The man. Mask. He told Sasuke about the man over and over.

Itachi. That was his reply every time.

Itachi, Itachi, Itachi, Itachi.

He fell silent. Sitting. Hugging Sasuke. Everything was okay. Everything wasn't okay. The world froze. The world was gone.

He drifted off into darker darkness.

  
  
Chapter 34: Orochimaru?  
Summary:

Basically focuses on Austin and Matthew. Very, very important chapter.

  
  
End Notes:

My favorite chapter so far

  


Lexie sat on the edge of her seat. Kabuto, Austin, Ino and Sasuke had been missing for a week now.

'Hey, Hyuga!' She heard a voice in her head. 'It's Ino and I'll be kicked in the face if I talk for long but because I think you should know this, Kabuto is being a big jerk and ripped out-'

Lexie frowned. 'Ino?' She thought.

'Sorry, Kabuto kicked me in the face. Now I'm acting like I'm unconscious. He ripped out my voice box, girl! He's cruel!' Ino thought.

Lexie looked down. 'Well... did he hurt-'

'He broke Austin's arm and made him carry 2 unconscious people. Don't worry, Austin smashed his glasses and some ninja cut off his ponytail!' Ino thought more excitedly. Lexie could hear a slight decrease in volume, as if she was weakening.

'Sorry, I can't talk any more. Takes up too much chakra. Go ask Naruto what I told him. Bye.' Ino quickly thought.

Kabuto watched the girl. Did he really knock her out? He thought, noticing her breathing seemed like she was awake.

"Get up now or I'll make you get up." Kabuto said, kicking Ino in the side.

Ino slowly got up. She was kicked in the back.

"How much have you told them?" Kabuto asked casually.

Ino shrugged. She glanced at Sasuke, silently asking for help.

Sasuke ignored her and sat by Austin. He watched his brother for any signs that anything was wrong.

Itachi. Mask. Man. The world was dark. No, it wasn't dark. He was looking at Itachi's hair. He looked around. He was in his room. Itachi. Holding him. Big brother.

Big brother. He pulled out a kunai. Big brother. He stabbed them both. Parents. Sasuke sobbed in the corner. The masked man held a kunai, too. Blood. Itachi. Parents. Death.

Crying. Austin was crying. Sasuke was crying. Itachi was crying. The masked man was laughing.

Laughter. It was okay. More blood. Death. It... was... okay...

Cold. Sitting in the snow. Sasuke. Colder than the snow. Dead. Austin cried. His brother. The snow was red. The masked man waved at him. Waved. Austin threw. He threw his kunai.

Itachi. Big brother. Crying. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

The darkness receded and he saw Itachi's face above him, bags under his eyes.

"Big brother?" Sasuke was dead. Sasuke was killed. Dead. Of course.

"Austin?"

It wasn't Itachi. Who could it be? Sasuke was killed. Stabbed.

"It's me, Sasuke."

The masked man. Killed Sasuke.

"Austin, are you okay?"

The fake Sasuke's eyes filled with concern.

"You're not real. You died. In the snow." Austin told the Sasuke.

"No, Austin! I'm right here. I'm right here with you." Sasuke said, beginning to panic.

'Austin? Please answer me!' He heard a voice say in his head. Ino. He knew it was Ino.

"W-who is he? Is he a clone? O-of Sasuke?" Austin asked.

Ino stared at him. That was when he realized. Sasuke was alive. His death wasn't real.

Sasuke hugged him wordlessly. Ino also hugged both Uchihas, with only a grunt of protest from Sasuke.

Kabuto smirked. "Very heartwarming. Now, I'll be taking the Uchiha on a walk." He said, getting up. "Come along, little Uchiha."

Austin glared at Kabuto and held onto Ino. "No... no! I won't go with you, you monster!" He exclaimed confidently, yet weakly.

Kabuto's hands moved quickly as he performed the hand signs for his chakra scalpel. He held his hands up, ready to slash at Austin.

"I said come, child." He said threateningly.

Austin shook his head. "Uh-uh! Not going to-" His words were interrupted by Kabuto cutting the muscles in his forearm. He let out a cry of pain, and Sasuke shot up.

"Don't you dare... hurt my little brother... I'll kill you." Sasuke threatened. Ino also stood up.

Kabuto grinned. "I can kill the girl. I don't need to keep her alive. Lord Orochimaru doesn't need her." He said, to no one in particular.

Austin struggled and shrieked as Kabuto picked him up roughly by his broken arm, swinging him around carelessly. One arm was broken severely, and the other had been hurt by Kabuto's chakra scalpel.

Kabuto slammed the door and locked it multiple times before walking calmly through the hallway with Austin in hand. Austin was quiet as tears rolled down his face, wishing he had just let his brother go.

The Sandaime Hokage looked at Naruto. "Hello. Are you okay, Naruto? Matthew?" He asked.

Naruto was breathing hard. "Sasuke... Austin... Ino... they're okay... and they're with Orochimaru..." He said, pausing for breath. "And Ino can talk to you if she needs to..."

Hiruzen was silent. He looked down. "Orochimaru..." He mumbled.

Naruto nodded. Matthew remained silent.

"He's taken them?" Hiruzen asked calmly, brow furrowed in concentration.

"I-I think that they chose to... Sasuke ran... Austin followed... Ino was stabbed..." Naruto explained.

"Naruto, you knew about this the whole time?" Hiruzen looked at the Genin.

Naruto nodded. "I was with Austin when he chose to..."

Hiruzen nodded. "Naruto, thank you for the information. Matthew.. may I have a word with you, alone?"

Naruto nodded and left the room. Matthew continued to look at the ground.

"Matthew. We don't want to pressure you, but... we know that you came from Orochimaru's hideout." Hiruzen stated. "Please, if you know anything about him... tell me right now."

Matthew looked up. Hiruzen flinched as he looked at his former pupil's pale face and familiar snakelike features.

"I-I don't know anything that you don't..." Matthew said reluctantly.

Hiruzen looked down, deeply disturbed. This child... he had the same air about him as the child he taught years ago. Matthew looked more like Orochimaru every day. Hiruzen could only wonder about what Orochimaru had done to the child to make him this way.

"You may leave, Matthew." Hiruzen stated, trying to hide the alarm in his voice.

Matthew's eyes changed to yellow, taking on a reptilian look. The slits in his eyes focused on Hiruzen.

Hiruzen's eyes widened. "Orochimaru?" He asked, shocked.

Matthew smiled a bit as he got up and left the room, leaving Hiruzen shocked and bewildered.

His eyes returned to normal. He stopped walking. He sat down.

He sat outside the Hokage's office, unmoving. He didn't know what to do. Would he be killed? Arrested? Questioned at the very least?

He didn't move when he felt Hiruzen sit down next to him. The Hokage probably hated him.

  
  
Chapter 35: Snek!  
Summary:

This chapter focuses on Matthew Uzumaki/Senju/idek anymore! He has a conversation with Hiruzen.

  
  
Notes:

I know that this story is horrible. But guess what? I'm only writing this for 4 other people in the world. It's your choice if you want to read it, but just know that it's not exactly targeted towards anyone not in the story. As far as I know, they don't really care about how badly written it is, so...

  


Hiruzen looked at Matthew. Matthew looked up.

"Y-you don't have to pretend to care about me... just because you like Naruto..." Matthew said, looking away from Hiruzen.

"Matthew, look at me. I want to help you. We're all a family here..." Hiruzen said soothingly.

Matthew looked at the Hokage. "What, do I remind you of that monster Orochimaru? I heard him talking about you once when I was little. He said you were senile and cared too much."

Hiruzen sighed. "Such an immature 50-year-old. He's so full of himself, thinking he's immortal." He mumbled to himself. "Either way, Matthew, you're not him. I know that."

"How do you know? What if I am him? What if I'm evil? I'd kill myself before I'd hurt anyone here..." Matthew ranted.

Hiruzen seemed pained. "Matthew, when Orochimaru was your age, I saw the signs of him growing up to become... that. I see none of those in you." He pointed out. "You're a healthy young boy, while Orochimaru was a quiet, strange child. He was very... unsettling."

"Even if I'm not evil and not Orochimaru... I'm still like this for a reason. One does not simply turn into another person without a reason." Matthew retorted.

Hiruzen sighed. The child did have a point.

"I know that the crystal ninja brought you here. The Leaf village accepts children that had bad lives and they are allowed a clean slate. That means... you do not look like you did when you were rescued. Do you know how you looked?" Hiruzen asked.

"He never let me see myself. Only him, big brother and the crystal ninja know." Matthew said without thinking.

"Big brother?" Hiruzen asked curiously.

"His name is Yakushi Kabuto. I think he's done some bad things since then, but he always took care of me when I was little." Matthew explained.

"I see." Hiruzen stated.

Matthew let his head fall back into his knees. "I just... don't want to be him. He's evil and I hate him!"

"I don't really hate him... I can't. He was my pupil for many years... I tried my best to keep him on the right path. He sealed his fate the second he began doing those sick experiments on fellow Konoha ninja." Hiruzen reminisced.

Matthew looked up, his eyes snakelike and yellow. He grabbed his head, realizing what was going on with his eyes. He closed his eyes. He didn't want to sadden the third Hokage.

In the end, Matthew found himself forced to look up by some strange force. Orochimaru? The snake beast? He didn't know. He couldn't think. It was like he wasn't in control.

Matthew stared at Hiruzen, while the Hokage returned his gaze.

"You don't hate me, then, master." Matthew heard himself- no, not himself- say mockingly. He tried to move his body. He couldn't.

Hiruzen's gaze hardened. "Orochimaru, if you're inside this boy, leave. I will not allow such disrespect."

"You will not allow me to disrespect you, O great Hokage?" Matthew detected sarcasm in the voice that was not his own.

Tears welled up in Matthew's- or Orochimaru's- eyes. He tried to make the Sannin stop talking.

Hiruzen frowned as he heard his former pupil speak. He had never heard such confidence in his life- since Orochimaru wasn't physically there, he couldn't be attacked. Orochimaru knew Hiruzen wouldn't kill Matthew. He found himself wondering what sort of jutsu had been used on the child.

Matthew's eyes slowly returned to a soft blue, his hands balling up into fists. Tears ran down his face as he stood up.

"I-I'm dangerous... I really am him..." Matthew mumbled. He started to leave.

Kabuto shifted Austin around, finally finding Orochimaru.

The Sannin sat in a chair, deep in concentration.

"Lord Orochimaru? Austin Uchiha is awake." Kabuto stated.

Orochimaru seemed to stop what he was doing. Some sort of jutsu? Kabuto thought.

"Good, Kabuto. Put him back when you're done here. I have an assignment for you." Orochimaru said. He seemed a bit disgruntled, but looked like he had achieved something great.

"Should I put him in a different room from the girl? He might tell her something and she may relay it to the village."

"Sounds good. Actually, leave him here. I'd like to keep an eye on him." Orochimaru told Kabuto. "Your task is to infiltrate the Leaf village and bring me that Hyuga. I know you have made her feel that you two are close, so that may make it easier. You should wear a disguise that will let you in with little to no suspicion."

Kabuto nodded. "The Uchiha's arms are injured. One is broken in multiple places and the other's muscle has been severed." He explained.

Orochimaru watched Austin as he was placed on the floor. Austin's fists were clenched and he was tearing up.

"Y-you're both evil sicko idiot meanies!" Austin shouted, standing up weakly. He ran towards Orochimaru, trying to at least hit him.

Orochimaru grabbed the foot flying towards his face and stood up. He threw Austin to the ground and put a foot on the child's throat.

"I'll be going then." Kabuto said calmly, walking out of the room.

Naruto held Matthew's hand as his brother cried and shivered. "Please stop crying, Matthew... please..." Naruto pleaded weakly.

Matthew gritted his teeth and held back his tears, putting on a smile for his brother.

"I-I'm fine. Wanna go get some ramen?" Matthew asked Naruto.

"But you hate ramen! Let's go eat what you want!" Naruto protested.

"We could get barbecue pork with Choji..." Matthew offered.

Naruto grinned and nodded, setting off with Matthew to go find Choji.

  
  
Chapter 36: Sinister plots

Matthew ate a piece of pork, barely chewing it before swallowing it. It wasn't like he would be able to enjoy his food anyway.

Choji looked over at him. "You going to eat that?" He asked.

Matthew shrugged and ate another piece before sliding his plate over to Choji.

Naruto looked at Matthew concernedly before eating some of his own food.

Jiraiya was just in the village to get a bite to eat and buy a few things. As such, he didn't expect to stay long at all.

He walked into the restaurant where Matthew, Naruto and Choji were eating and sat down at a table.

Jiraiya looked around, his eyes stopping when he saw Matthew. The child was sitting stiffly in his chair, eyes twitching slightly. Jiraiya shuddered. The child looked like Orochimaru at his age. The pale skin, the eyes... the resemblance was all there.

He looked away from Matthew and stared at the wall. Wasn't it Minato's kid? No, he knew that the crystal ninja had brought him to Konoha. He knew for a fact that Kushina didn't have twins that day.

Or did she? He looked back at Matthew. Perhaps when Kushina's seal was released, a child was lost in the chaos?

There was no way. He might resemble Naruto, but he definitely wasn't actually related.

Didn't the crystal ninja save experiments from Orochimaru?

Could that mean that Matthew was actually his teammate's son?

Jiraiya sighed. He couldn't stand to be near the child. Matthew reminded him too much of Orochimaru.

Austin tried to move, but Orochimaru's foot was still holding him down.

"I wanna see Ino!" Austin shouted. He squirmed around and grunted as he tried to get up and run.

"Stop. It's getting quite annoying." Orochimaru hissed, cutting off Austin's air supply.

Austin gasped for air and stopped moving, prompting Orochimaru to put less pressure on his lungs. He didn't want the child to pass out yet.

"Soon, we'll have your Hyuga friend. She'll train the clones, whether she likes it or not." Orochimaru told Austin nonchalantly.

Austin began to struggle again. "No! We saved her from you, so you shouldn't be allowed to take her back! That's the rule!" He exclaimed.

Orochimaru laughed. "That's hilarious. I am not bound by rules, for I am immortal!" He said loudly.

The foot was lifted off of Austin, and Austin stood up slowly without the use of his arms. He glared at Orochimaru.

"I-I won't let you! You're mean! A big fat idiot meanie!" Austin shouted.

"Someone who has the nerve to insult me? How stupid are you?" Orochimaru replied. The Sannin smirked.

"You're only a small child. You can't stop me or Kabuto. You can't even fight a ninja your level. Sure, you and that girl beat up Kabuto, but he's nothing compared to me." Orochimaru said condescendingly.

"She's not just a girl! She's Ino!" Austin shouted. "She's the strongest girl ever!"

Orochimaru sat down. "That title goes to someone else." He replied, seeming to remember something.

"Just lemme go see Ino!" Austin yelled at Orochimaru.

Kabuto frowned as he looked at his now brown hair. It would take him a while to get his hair back to the normal silver color. He picked up some rectangular glasses and looked at himself.

No one would be able to recognize him, not even Lexie. His plan was to reveal his identity to her and get her to come with him. He didn't want to be discovered by Matthew or anyone else that may know him.

Shrugging, he got up and left the room. He would leave later in the day and be back with the Hyuga within a week.

Michael put on his boots and pulled his hood up over his head. He grabbed some food and threw it into a bag.

He was going to find Austin and Sasuke, even if he died trying.

  
  
Chapter 37: Kotsu  
Summary:

A new character appears!

  


Matthew looked out into the street. The townspeople moved by, barely paying attention to the pale boy. As Matthew looked around, something caught his eye- A small child, sitting against a wall, head buried in his arms.

"Hey, Naruto. I just remembered I had to go get something. I'll be back!" He told his brother before getting up and leaving the restaurant.

"What's up with him?" Choji wondered out loud.

Naruto shrugged and watched concernedly as Matthew left.

Matthew walked up the child. "Hello..." He greeted him softly.

The child looked up and ran his left arm over his face, wiping off tears.

"Hello!" He said shakily, but cheerfully. "I'm Kotsu!"

Matthew noticed a scar over his right eye.

"I'm Matthew!" Matthew replied.

Kotsu grinned. "I like your hair! It looks cool!" He exclaimed.

Matthew frowned, but quickly turned his frown upside down. He didn't want to alarm the child.

"Hold on, lemme show you something!" Kotsu said excitedly. He reached into his pocket. Matthew frowned. Something about his arm was different.

When Kotsu held up a shiny, bluish shuriken, Matthew immediately noticed what was off about his arm.

The child's arm was made of wood, and its joints looked confusing. Kotsu whirled his wooden arm around 360 degrees, and launched the shuriken at the wall opposite of them.

Matthew gasped. "You can twist your arm around that far?"

Kotsu grinned. "Yep!" He exclaimed, running off to get his shuriken. Matthew watched as he limped. On closer examination, Matthew realized that Kotsu had a piece of wood as his left leg.

"What happened to your arm and your leg?" Matthew asked.

"Oh! It's nothing!" Kotsu replied. "I used to live with my papa out there in the forest! But one day, some mean ninja came... and he died. The mean guy cut off my arm and my leg and cut my eye! How mean is that?"

Matthew stared in horror. How could Kotsu talk about that so casually?

"Well, it doesn't matter now! I'm gonna be Hokage someday, and when I'm super strong, I'm gonna kill that ninja!" Kotsu exclaimed.

Matthew grinned. "I'll bet you will be Hokage! You and my brother, and my friend Austin!" He told Kotsu. "Wanna go see my brother? He can teach you a ton of cool Hokage stuff!"

Kotsu grinned. "Sure!" He exclaimed, getting up and following Matthew.

Naruto examined Kotsu. "So, you wanna be Hokage, huh?" He asked the child. "Well, you have to be really strong like me, and you have to work really, really hard!"

Kotsu grinned and nodded. "What do I need to do?" He asked excitedly.

"I'll teach you an awesome jutsu that you really need to know if you wanna be Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed.

Austin sat on the floor, wondering what he could do to help Ino. There was no way, was there? Orochimaru was too strong. Kabuto was too strong.

Then, he had an idea.

'Ino!' Austin shouted through thoughts. 'Tell someone that Kabuto is going to the Leaf village! I think he's leaving now!'

Ino startled and nodded. 'Okay! I'll tell Shikamaru or Choji!' She answered back.

Kabuto stepped out into the fresh air and stopped for a moment to breathe in. The air in the hideout was stuffy, so he was glad to get out.

He twirled a kunai around as he began his journey to Konoha. The rectangular glasses he wore bothered him, but he ignored them and continued.

If he saw Arrion, then capturing him would be a plus. It would help him and Orochimaru to have all of the crystal ninja contained. If Arrion was left to run free, he could learn too much. He could use his Dragon Ruby Mirage genjutsu to ruin his plans.

  
  
Chapter 38: Birthday Celebration  
Summary:

It's Lexie's birthday! Surely this'll be a light-hearted, fun chapter!

  
  
End Notes:

I like this chapter. It wasn't cheerful at all.

  


It was Lexie's birthday, and it was the worst birthday she had ever had. It was even worse than the ones in the hideout. By her birthday, she had pretty much given up hope of ever leaving. Everything was dull and she don't feel much of anything.

This year, she felt angry and sad. She was angry at Kabuto for leaving and hurting Ino and Austin. She was obviously sad that Austin was with Orochimaru, and seeing Matthew struggling with Orochimaru's influence.

She only wished she could see Kabuto and ask him why he hurt them. Maybe there was a reason? She refused to believe that Kabuto would hurt them.

Then again, Kabuto had tormented her while she was at the hideout. She didn't know why she was forgetting that he was a twisted, evil maniac who wasn't exactly the nicest.

She sighed and decided to go eat something. She really liked food.

Lexie pulled her hood over her eyes and set foot outside, into the Leaf village. She usually hid her eyes from others, just in case any Hyuga noticed her and recognized her.

Kabuto slouched as he walked, quite different from his normal pace. He looked around to try and spot Lexie, but to no avail. Wasn't it her birthday or something? He remembered her saying something about it.

He decided to check at Ichiraku- it was Lexie's favorite place to eat, and he could eat something if she wasn't there.

Kabuto frowned as he saw a lot more Ninja around. They seemed like they were looking for someone.

That was when it hit him- the Uchiha could talk to the Yamanaka. The Yamanaka must have told someone in Konoha that he was coming.

He couldn't afford to make any mistakes. If he did, he could be arrested.

Lexie sat at Ichiraku, casually eating some ramen. She sat back and stretched, making sure to keep her hood up.

She glanced over at the person sitting down next to her- a man with brown hair and rectangular glasses.

"Hello." The man said. He looked at Lexie, and his glasses seemed to brighten, as if they were light sources.

Lexie looked at the man, unnerved by his similarity to Kabuto. She nodded in greeting and continued eating.

"Come on, Lexie. I know you can talk." The man told her teasingly. "I thought you would have recognized me by now."

Lexie looked up and almost choked on her ramen as she looked at the man. "K-Kabuto?" She asked, shocked.

Kabuto nodded. "The village knows I'm here, so I'm going to have to get in and out. It's your birthday, right?" He asked.

Lexie nodded. "I was planning to celebrate it with Arrion, Austin, Michael and Matthew, but..." She told Kabuto, glaring at him. "Obviously, Austin and Michael can't attend. Did you take Michael, too?"

Kabuto shook his head. "I didn't take Austin. He came with me so he could find Sasuke." He explained.

"And did you break his arm? Did you cut out Ino's voice box?" Lexie asked.

"No, I didn't. Austin's arm broke from falling off of a tree, and Ino's just being a drama queen." Kabuto told her.

Lexie nodded and ate another bite of ramen.

"Straight to the point, Orochimaru sent me to take you. However, I can tell him you died or you heard I was coming and left." Kabuto informed her.

"Tell him I left. If he finds me, then he won't punish you for lying." Lexie commanded.

"Okay. I brought you a birthday present, too." Kabuto said, looking in his bag. He scrounged through the bag and finally found what he was looking for. He pulled a cupcake out of a box.

"Here it is. A vanilla cupcake." Kabuto said, handing the cupcake to her. Lexie accepted the cupcake and looked at it.

"Thanks, Kabuto!" Lexie proclaimed happily, biting into it. She finished the cupcake quickly and paid for her ramen.

"I'll walk home with you." Kabuto decided. Lexie nodded as she got up happily.

Michael frowned as he tried to find any hints that would lead him to Kabuto, Orochimaru and Austin. He had found the place where Ino was stabbed, and followed some other, more subtle clues for about a mile. He lost track of time as he made note of cracked twigs and plants that Kabuto and Austin had touched. The plants seemed to reach out towards him mentally, leading him down a faint path that the plants told him Kabuto took.

He was still determined to find Austin, no matter what it took. It would make Matthew, Naruto and Lexie happier, and if he could get Sasuke back as well, it would make Naruto even happier.

Kotsu grinned as he used the reverse harem jutsu. "Like this?" He asked Naruto excitedly.

"Perfect! You've definitely got the potential to be Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kotsu held up his wooden arm. "I can't really channel chakra through this arm really well... it's hard for me to do jutsu." He told Naruto.

"Matthew! Can you do some cool wood-style jutsu stuff to help his arm?" Naruto asked his brother.

"Naruto, I don't know any wood-style jutsu, let alone jutsu that would help his arm." Matthew replied.

Naruto nodded. "Well, you're pretty cool! Your name's Kotsu, right?"

"Yeah! Kotsu Hyoro!" Kotsu exclaimed.

Matthew looked up. "Naruto, its Lexie's birthday and we haven't even talked to her!" He said sadly.

"Well, let's go say hi! Wanna come, little bro?" Naruto asked.

"Little bro?" Matthew questioned.

"Well, he's younger than us, and he's like our brother now, right?" Naruto explained.

"Alright, big bro!" Kotsu shouted. "Let's go say hi!"

Matthew smiled and stood up. "She lives on the outskirts of the village. If we hurry, we can be there in 10 minutes." He thought out loud.

Naruto nodded and picked up Kotsu. "Let's go!" He shouted.

Lexie began to feel tired. Her eyes threatened to close, but she kept them open. She slowed down a bit, but tried to keep up with Kabuto. She wondered why she was tired all of a sudden.

The medicine should be taking effect, Kabuto thought. She would fall asleep for a few hours, so he could get her a good distance away from the village before she woke up and rebelled against him.

Lexie slouched a bit more than usual, getting even more tired. She could just fall asleep right then, on the ground. The idea of sleeping seemed very appealing to her. She started to fall asleep with Kabuto holding her hand.

Kabuto looked over to see that Lexie was about to fall asleep. He watched as she started to snore.

Now, all Kabuto had to do was escape without anyone seeing him carrying someone. He picked her up and began walking towards the wall that was near Lexie's house.

He heard a noise, and glanced over towards the source of the sound. He sighed as he saw Matthew, Naruto and Kotsu walking towards Lexie's house.

Kotsu looked around. "Is that a person over there? Looks like he's carrying another person." He observed. Matthew looked where Kotsu was pointing and narrowed his eyes.

"Hey! Who are you?" Naruto shouted. Kabuto turned his whole body around- he had been caught.

Matthew looked closer. "He is carrying someone! Wait, is that Lexie?" He asked.

Kabuto smirked. "So what if it is?" He taunted Matthew.

Naruto glared at him. "Put her down, whoever you are!" He shouted.

Kotsu frowned. "You meanie! Don't take big brother's friend!" He yelled at Kabuto.

"Who's that?" Kabuto asked curiously.

"Tell me who you are first!" Matthew exclaimed angrily.

"Fine. I'm your brother Kabuto." Kabuto explained tauntingly.

Matthew growled. "If you are, then tell me my full name!"

"Matthew Senju, or Matthew Uzumaki." Kabuto replied calmly.

Naruto stepped forward. "Y-you took Austin!" He shouted at Kabuto.

"So?" Kabuto replied.

Kotsu glared at him. "Stop upsetting my big brothers! I'm Kotsu Hyoro, and I'm gonna be Hokage!"

Kabuto crossed his arms. "Hokage? You can't use jutsu well with only one arm. In fact... killing you would be a service." He smirked. "I'll be back for you someday. For now, I'll be taking Lexie."

Matthew growled. "N-no!" He shouted. His eye twitched, and his hand shot up to his eye.

"Not now..." Matthew mumbled, keeping an eye on Kabuto. His eyes glowed softly as his pupils turned into snakelike slits.

"Heh... I see. Lord Orochimaru, are you there?" Kabuto asked.

"Yes, I am. Do not kill this child, Kabuto. Kill anyone else that you want." Matthew said with Orochimaru's voice.

"Okay. I'm just leaving now with the Hyuga."

Austin looked at Orochimaru. The Sannin sat, deep in concentration.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Austin asked. "Being your usual meanie self?"

Austin was bruised and injured all over. You'd think he'd have learned his lesson when he was kicked into the wall the first time, but he kept insulting Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's eyes opened. He stood up and smirked.

"Seems your little forewarning didn't work. Kabuto is leaving the village." Orochimaru told Austin smugly.

Austin glared at him. "You're lying! He doesn't have Lexie with him!" He shouted.

"He does. According to him, the girl fell right into his trap and believed everything he said. All he had to do was drug her and carry her." Orochimaru informed him. "The Senju and the nine tails tried to stop him with this kid that had one eye, one arm and one leg."

Austin crossed his arms. "Liar, liar, plants for hire!" He shouted at Orochimaru.

That was how he ended up with a large bruise on the side of his face.

  
  
Chapter 39: The snake strikes again! and again  
Summary:

Orochimaru's influence on Matthew gets stronger, and Kabuto and Lexie arrive.

  
  
End Notes:

*hides under desk* oh no I'm going to be killed for this aren't I

  


Kabuto ate a cracker, his round glasses on and his newly brown hair tied back into a ponytail. He didn't kill Naruto or Kotsu, but he definitely roughed them up. However, he didn't know if Orochimaru, or Matthew, whoever it was, finished them off. They wouldn't be in any condition to pursue him anytime soon either way.

He looked over at Lexie, who was snoring on top of a sleeping bag. It was about time for her to be waking up.

Kabuto finished eating a sleeve of crackers, then stood up and stretched. He sighed as he looked at the stars.

Lexie groaned as she woke up. She lifted up her head and looked around.

"Kabuto?" She asked when she spotted Kabuto.

"Oh, you're awake. That's good." Kabuto told her.

Lexie looked around. "How did I... get here?" She asked.

"Well, I don't want to, but I have to bring you to Lord Orochimaru. I have no choice now." Kabuto lied. "He saw me with you, so I can't deny that I have you."

Lexie looked down. "I don't want to go back." She said.

"You're going to have to." Kabuto told her. "I have no choice."

Lexie sighed and stood up. "Fine." She mumbled, stretching. "Got any food?"

Kabuto nodded and pointed towards a bag. "You'll find some food there. We have fruit and some crackers." He offered.

Lexie nodded and took a cracker, before stopping herself.

"Wait, was that cupcake drugged?" Lexie asked.

Kabuto nodded. "I thought you wouldn't have come with me on your own." He told her.

Lexie frowned at the cracker and put it down. She wasn't sure if it was drugged. Kabuto shrugged and ate the cracker.

"So how has your life been since I left?" Kabuto asked.

"It's been horrible since you took Austin, and Michael and Sasuke left. Everyone's in a horrible mood, and something's happening to Matthew." Lexie explained.

"What's going on with Matthew?" Kabuto asked, feigning concern.

"He looks more like Orochimaru every day, and he'll snap sometimes and turn into Orochimaru form." Lexie explained sadly. "Know anything about it?"

"Well, Lord Orochimaru has been strange lately- stranger than he usually is. He'll sit in his chair, deep in concentration." Kabuto told her quietly.

"Is Austin okay?" Lexie asked.

Kabuto replied, "Depends on your definition of okay. I believe his arm is broken, his arm muscle is ripped, and he has multiple broken ribs."

Lexie looked down. "He's always getting the worst injuries out of all of us... I hope he'll be okay." She said quietly.

Kabuto put his arm around her. "It's okay, he's alive and he gets to be with Ino. At least he has that luxury." He reassured her. In reality, Austin wasn't allowed to see Ino.

Lexie nodded. "He's so cheerful and determined all the time- I can't imagine what this is doing to him."

"It has taken a toll on him, but believe me, he hasn't lost his spiteful attitude towards us." Kabuto mentioned. "I'm trying to help him."

That was obviously a lie, but Lexie didn't know that. She hugged Kabuto.

"Thanks for looking out for Austin, Kabuto." She thanked him.

Kabuto seemed a bit unnerved, but nodded. "You're welcome." He replied, eating a cracker.

Austin looked up. "Lemme see Ino." He demanded.

Orochimaru sighed. "Fine. I'll let you see the girl if you promise to stay quiet afterwards." He reluctantly compromised.

Austin grinned, a bruise on the side of his face hurting from the movement. He stood up unsteadily, shifting his weight to his least injured leg.

"Ready to go!" Austin exclaimed. Orochimaru picked up the Uchiha by the back of his shirt and carried him towards Sasuke and Ino's cell.

Austin grinned as he thought of finally seeing Ino and Sasuke. He didn't care that Orochimaru was constricting his breathing, because he was going to see Ino.

Orochimaru opened the door and set Austin on the ground, locking the door behind him.

Ino jumped up and ran over to hug Austin. Austin flinched as she touched his bruises.

'Are you okay?' Ino asked.

'I'm a bit beat up, but I'm fine!' Austin replied.

Ino stepped back and watched as Austin unsteadily walked towards Sasuke.

"Austin, are you hurt at all? I can see you limping." Sasuke asked, suspiciously eying Orochimaru.

Austin shrugged. "It's okay now! I get to see you guys, and all I had to do was promise I would be quiet!" Austin said happily.

"Austin, I want to know if he hurt you." Sasuke demanded.

"He did, but I'm fine! There's no need to-" His voice was cut off by Sasuke standing up and pushing past Ino.

"You hurt Austin. I'll hurt you." Sasuke challenged Orochimaru. He looked up at the Sannin.

"Sasuke! It's okay, really!" Austin shouted, limping over to his brother. "Please don't hurt him, Orochimaru! He doesn't mean what he says!"

Orochimaru crossed his arms. "It's time to go back. Say your goodbyes for now." He commanded.

Ino kissed Austin on the cheek. 'Bye, Austin!'

Austin grinned. "Bye, Ino! Bye, Sasuke!" He exclaimed, hugging Sasuke.

Orochimaru grabbed his shoulder and steered him away, much to Austin's dismay.

"Can I see them again soon?" Austin asked.

"Maybe." Orochimaru replied coldly. He pushed Austin into a small room with nothing in it.

"This'll be your new cell." Orochimaru told him.

Austin nodded. "Where do I sleep?" He asked.

"Anywhere." Orochimaru replied before closing and locking the door.

Kabuto and Lexie walked through the fallen leaves.

"We're almost there." Kabuto mentioned. "Not too much more walking."

Lexie sighed and ate a cracker. She hadn't eaten anything but crackers all day.

"Kabuto, why do you stay with him?" Lexie asked. "What do you gain from working with Orochimaru?"

Kabuto shrugged. He pushed the bridge of his glasses.

"Mostly because I can gain power to do whatever I want, to be honest." Kabuto replied after a while.

Lexie nodded and looked down. "Power... to do whatever you want. That's a good reason." She said.

Kabuto smiled. "Power can be good, but also bad. That's what happened to Orochimaru. See, I won't turn out that way."

Kabuto already knew that he was just as bad as Orochimaru, but he didn't really care. Power wasn't his real motive. He wasn't himself, and that was the real problem.

"It's just up ahead." Kabuto stated.

Lexie didn't know what to think. She was going back to Orochimaru, and she had agreed to do so. At least she would know for sure if Austin was okay.

Suddenly, someone jumped out of the bushes and tackled Kabuto. A vine reached out and hit Kabuto in the face.

"Kabuto!" Lexie exclaimed, trying to pull the attacker off of Kabuto.

"Lexie! Run!" The person shouted. "I'll hold him off!"

Kabuto elbowed them in the face and leapt up.

Lexie ran over to Kabuto and glared at the attacker, pulling out a kunai.

"Lexie! It's me, Michael! Why are you on his side?

"Michael? What happened? Why are you here?" Lexie asked.

"Saving you from Kabuto! What else would I be doing? I saw you with him and decided to help!" Michael replied.

Kabuto sighed. "It's you. The Genin who poisoned Lord Orochimaru." He said.

"I don't need any help, Michael. Kabuto's going to be in trouble if I don't go with him." Lexie told Michael.

"Oh, because you like him so much? I don't know what you see in him. He's just a mean idiot." Michael spat.

Kabuto smirked. "You're funny." He said, amused.

"Michael, I don't want you to get hurt. Please just go back to the village." Lexie pleaded.

"No! I'm the strongest Genin on our team, and I can take you down!" Michael exclaimed.

"I doubt that you could ever beat someone the likes of me." Kabuto stated smugly.

"If I can't kill you, I'll at least try to get Lexie away from you, you monster." Michael replied.

Lexie glared at them both. "Stop fighting. I don't need help. You don't need to attack Kabuto."

Michael crossed his arms. "So you're going to take him down by yourself?" He asked doubtfully.

"Michael, go back to the village. Matthew's worried about you. You could be hurt out here." Lexie commanded.

Michael looked down. "So, you're going with Kabuto? To Orochimaru?"

Lexie nodded. "You can't stop me, either. I'm going." She told Michael.

"Well... tell Austin I'm coming to get him and Sasuke. And Ino." Michael said sadly. "If you can't be stopped, then I won't stop you... but Kabuto's mean, and I'm going to kill him."

"I won't let you hurt him, Michael. And Kabuto, I won't let you hurt Michael." Lexie stated stubbornly.

"Don't you see? He's going to die someday. But when Lord Orochimaru teaches me the power of immortality, I'll be immortal. And I'll make sure you will be too." Kabuto said, smiling. "This kid isn't important."

Lexie frowned. "He's important, Kabuto. Don't say he isn't. Michael, please just go. If I need your help, I'll get Ino to tell you. She told me to be careful around Kabuto."

Michael hung his head and walked away.

Austin put his hand on the cold wall. He was bored. He was cold. He couldn't sleep in the cold, dark, tiny room.

He laid down on the floor and reached towards the ceiling. He wished he was back in Konoha, with Sasuke and Ino. He wished that Kabuto was never born.

Austin heard footsteps, so he got up and looked through a small window on the door.

Kabuto walked through the hallway slowly, which made him slightly angry. What made him infuriated was that Lexie casually walked with him.

"Hey!" Austin shouted. He punched the door as hard as he could, making a loud sound.

Kabuto looked over and spotted Austin.

"Hello, Austin." Kabuto greeted him cooly.

"Austin!" Lexie exclaimed. She ran over to the door.

"I'm fine! I just wanna know what you're doing walking with Kabuto!" Austin shouted. "What, are you guys dating?"

"Austin, it's fine. He was going to be in trouble if he didn't take me, so I decided to go with him." Lexie replied calmly.

"Don't believe a word he says! He's a liar and a meanie! He cut out Ino's voice box and hurt Arrion's family!" Austin yelled.

Lexie glanced at Kabuto, who was scowling at Austin.

"Don't listen to him." Kabuto stated, crossing his arms.

Lexie looked from Austin to Kabuto, not sure who to believe.

"I'll be careful, Austin. If he hurts me, then I'll get away from him." Lexie decided, sighing.

Austin also crossed his arms and glared at Kabuto. "I'll kill you once I get out of here!" He shouted.

Matthew woke up laying in a grassy area, with a kunai in his hand. The handle was slick with blood.

He stood up unsteadily and spotted Naruto and Kotsu laying on the ground. He walked over to them.

"Naruto? Kotsu?" Matthew questioned.

Naruto twitched, then slowly opened his eyes. He flinched a bit when he saw Matthew.

"Matthew? Is it you... or him?" Naruto asked. "I think... your eyes are normal now..."

Matthew looked at him confusedly for a moment, then noticed Naruto's injuries. That was when he realized what he- no, Orochimaru- had done.

"Did I hurt you?" Matthew asked shakily.

Naruto thought for a moment, then shook his head. "You didn't... Orochimaru took over, I think." He replied.

Matthew looked over at Kotsu, and jolted when he saw the small child barely breathing. There was a slash across his chest and one on his head. They were both bleeding profusely.

He ran over to Kotsu. "Kotsu!" He exclaimed. He ripped off part of his sleeve and tried to stop his wounds from bleeding.

"Naruto! Go get a medical ninja!" Matthew shouted.

Naruto got up, but stumbled and fell back down.

Matthew began breathing heavily. "Okay... Naruto, can you try and help Kotsu? I'll get the medical ninja."

Naruto nodded. "I'll keep him alive, believe it!" He exclaimed, making his way to where Kotsu was.

Matthew got up, and with one last glance at Kotsu and Naruto, he sprinted into the village.

  
  
Chapter 40: Hyoro  
Summary:

Lexie has a conversation with Orochimaru, and someone gets a backstory.

  
  
End Notes:

this ripped my heart in two because it felt like i killed kotsu twice, once as a different character and another time here. oh well...

  


"Back again, Lexie? Are you going to escape this time?" Orochimaru said smugly. "Where's your attitude now? You're just standing there."

Lexie looked down. There was really no reason to insult Orochimaru. All it would do is get her punished. Besides, she didn't want anyone to get hurt because she escaped or did something rebellious.

"Now, now. There's no reason to be like that. You're acting very strange." Orochimaru said, pretending to be concerned.

"What? Is that a concern of yours now?" Lexie asked, submitting to the urge to insult him. "You're just an old snake who wants to be immortal to cover up that there's nothing special about you. All you are is a old guy with a big ego." She went on to describe everything she'd rather do than be in the same room as Orochimaru.

Kabuto looked at Orochimaru. Out of all the insults Lexie had ever hurled at him, this was by far the most detailed.

Orochimaru laughed. "You're hilarious. What's even more hilarious is that you're shaking. I must have finally broken you, the strong-willed Hyuga."

Lexie realized that she had been shaking the whole time, but it wasn't in fear. She was angry that Kabuto was probably lying about helping Austin, and the fact that she could see that Austin was hurt.

"What, are you scared that I'll hurt the Uchiha? Or perhaps... Kabuto?" Orochimaru sneered.

Lexie clenched her fists and managed to repress the urge to punch Orochimaru in the face. It would only end badly for her.

Austin punched the wall, earning himself a hurt wrist. He held his wrist and glared at the wall.

Not only had Kabuto taken Lexie, but Lexie was going with him willingly. He was mad at them both.

He sat in the corner of the room. He was bored, so he decided to just look out of the small window in his door and see if anything would happen.

Nothing unusual happened. Austin decided to lay on the floor and try to sleep.

Matthew sat by Kotsu's bed. The small child hadn't woken up yet, but his breathing seemed to be less ragged and a bit stronger than before. Those changes made him hopeful, but he still felt guilty even though it wasn't him who hurt Kotsu.

A medical ninja entered the room and cleared his throat.

"Is he going to live?" Matthew asked shakily.

"He's hurt badly, but we have some hope for him. We believe that what happened to him may have done more than physically hurt him. He might not want to wake up." The medical ninja replied without hesitation.

Matthew clenched his fists. Did he cause Kotsu to be this way? That was the only question he had.

-2 years ago-

Kotsu opened his eyes and yawned. It was a bright, sunny morning, and the child was incredibly excited. It was his birthday, and he was going to be 4 years old.

He heard a voice from outside. Probably father, Kotsu thought.

He got up and walked closer to the doorway to the small house that he and his father lived in.

"I'll never tell you where it is!" Kotsu heard his father exclaim.

Another voice replied, "You will once I'm done with you. I'm giving you an opportunity to give it up now. If you do so, there will be no need for me to hurt you."

"Fine, then..." Kotsu's father said quietly. Kotsu heard someone shout in pain, then a thud.

The other voice was quiet for a moment, then walked by Kotsu's room.

Kotsu finally got a good look at the person. They had silver hair with a ponytail and round glasses.

"Hey!" Kotsu shouted at the man.

They turned around, surprised to see Kotsu standing in the doorway.

"Why, hello. I'm Kabuto." The man introduced himself. "Have you seen anything like a book around here? Something that might have been kept hidden?"

Kotsu frowned. "Father told me not to tell anyone, so I'd have to ask him first!" He told Kabuto.

"That won't be needed. He's... asleep... right now." Kabuto replied. "Why don't you just show me?"

"Nuh-uh!" Kotsu exclaimed. He shook his head.

Kabuto pulled out a kunai. "Are you sure?" He asked dangerously.

Kotsu nodded. "I'm sure!" He told Kabuto.

The child shrieked as Kabuto cut his eye with the kunai.

"Are you still sure?" Kabuto questioned with a murderous gleam in his eye.

Kotsu sobbed and held his hand over his eye.

"F-father told me not to... he told me not to!" Kotsu shouted shakily.

Kabuto pointed behind Kotsu. "Your father is dead. He killed himself so he wouldn't have to be hurt. He was right to be scared of me."

Kotsu looked at his father, and immediately looked back at Kabuto.

"No... you killed him! You killed father!" Kotsu yelled.

"You're so annoying..." Kabuto mumbled. His hand snapped outward as he grabbed Kotsu's arm.

"I'll hurt you really bad, kid. Tell me where it is."

"No! No, no, no!" Kotsu cried. Tears fell from his eyes. "You're a mean person! You're really mean, and I don't care what you do to me! I'm not telling!"

Kabuto gritted his teeth and pulled out a kunai. He held it against Kotsu's arm and slashed downwards.

Kotsu fell over and screeched at Kabuto through his tears. "Y-you ugly, stupid, idiot, moron, imbecile, very ugly, very stupid idiot!"

Kabuto smirked. He didn't expect to hurt the child that bad. He watched as Kotsu breathed heavily.

"Tell me or I'll do the same to your leg." Kabuto threatened.

"I-I won't tell y-you!" Kotsu yelled, sobbing. He curled up into a ball.

Kabuto growled and kicked him in the side. "I cut off your arm and cut your eye. You're the most durable person I've ever seen. While this is entertaining and all, I need that book." He told Kotsu impatiently.

Kotsu was quiet, sobbing and shivering.

"Fine. I'm cutting off your leg. This is your last chance before I do so." Kabuto sighed.

Kotsu was quiet once again.

Matthew got up and pushed past the medical ninja. Of course he was the cause of Kotsu being sad. The child probably felt betrayed. Matthew would leave the Leaf village, where he couldn't hurt anyone else again.

  
  
Chapter 41: The beginnings of the ends  
Summary:

Things happen. So many things happen that I don't want to type the whole thing so you'll see I guess

  
  
Notes:

So I'm bored and tired and have no motivation so I'm giving you this kind of short, late chapter.

  


Michael ate an apple as he sat on a tree branch. He wished he was actually strong enough to beat Kabuto. He managed to defeat Orochimaru by poisoning him, but that was just once. Kabuto and Orochimaru now knew of his powers.

He watched as a brown squirrel gracefully ran through the leaves. He could, if he wanted to, kill the squirrel by commanding the plants around him to ensnare the rodent, but he was content with watching it carry a nut to its home.

There was a movement in the leaves, and a snake shot out of a bush. It clamped its jaws around the rodent and crushed its neck.

Michael sighed as the snake slithered away with its prey. Nothing lives forever, he thought.

A hawk swooped down and picked up the snake, flying upwards as fast as he had descended.

Nothing lives forever, not even Orochimaru.

Matthew sat in a bush, staring at the sky. The bright blue of the sky was very calming.

He yawned and stretched. He was quite a distance from Konoha, which was good. He didn't want to hurt anyone else.

The leaves above him rustled. He looked up to see a hawk perched on a branch high up on a tree. The hawk had a snake in its talons.

Matthew heard footsteps coming from the ground, and saw Michael studying a leaf.

"Michael?" Matthew called.

Michael looked over. "Well, there you are! Why're you out here?" He asked, walking over.

"Don't get near me." Matthew ordered. "I might hurt you."

Michael shrugged and sat next to him. "I don't believe that. You've never killed anyone." He said to Matthew. "By the way, was your hair always like that? It's... longer and a lot more black."

Matthew felt his hair and noticed that it had grown quite a bit. He frowned and sighed.

"The reason I'm out here is because I hurt Naruto and my friend Kotsu." Matthew explained. "I don't want to hurt them again."

Michael frowned. "Well, I trust you not to hurt me. How are you doing?"

Matthew shrugged. "Fine. Just fine." He replied.

"So what's happened since I left?" Michael asked.

"Kabuto took Lexie. That's just about it." Matthew told him.

"Oh... I talked to them a while ago." Michael replied.

"What?! Was Lexie okay? Has Kabuto hurt her?" Matthew asked.

"Lexie was okay. She willingly went with Kabuto. Kabuto doesn't seem to have hurt her."

Matthew frowned. "Why would she go with him?"

Michael smiled a bit. "Haven't you noticed? They're in love." He said to Matthew. "That's why."

"Why would she like him? What does she see in him?!" Matthew exclaimed.

"I really don't get it either. He's mean. He told Lexie I wasn't important and that he'd make her immortal." Michael replied.

Matthew sighed and looked down.

Austin curled up into a ball and sat in the corner of his room. All he could think about was hurting Kabuto. Kabuto had ruined his life by existing.

He stood up and stretched, then kicked the stone wall. It didn't even leave a mark, which made him angry. He yelled and punched the wall, even more angry than before.

He wanted Ino and Sasuke. They would help him. They would be nice to him and encourage him.

He was all alone in a small, cold room with no one to help him.

Lexie looked down and barely listened as Kabuto explained what she needed to do. She thought she remembered him saying something about training clones, but nothing else.

"Lexie, are you even listening to me?" Kabuto said loudly.

Lexie looked up. "Huh? No, I wasn't really listening." She replied.

Kabuto frowned. "Well, start listening." He commanded.

Lexie crossed her arms and paid attention to what Kabuto was saying.

"You'll be training the Hyuga clones on how to use the Byakugan correctly. Obviously, we can't teach them, so you're going to have to. Don't even think about teaching them to betray us." Kabuto explained.

Lexie nodded. "Fine. And what do I get for doing this?" She asked.

"You get to live." Kabuto replied bluntly.

That was always the answer to that question here. Lexie didn't know why she expected anything different.

"How many clones are there so far?" Lexie asked.

"12, I believe." Kabuto replied.

"How old are they?"

"A variety of ages, from 9 to 15."

Lexie thought. "And there's no way I can get out of this." She confirmed.

Kabuto nodded. "Unless you want Lord Orochimaru to kill or torture you." He replied casually.

"Show me the clones." Lexie commanded.

Kabuto chuckled and opened a door. "They're just in here. I don't know how you train them to use the Byakugan, but-" He was cut off.

"Heh... I only have academy-level Byakugan training. I'll try, though." Lexie replied.

Kabuto sighed. "Also, there's one that's different. The runt of the litter, as you would say. He's tiny and weak, and he barely talks. It took a lot of convincing to keep Lord Orochimaru from killing him."

Lexie nodded and entered the room. 12 Hyuga children sat down or walked around in the large room.

"Hello!" Lexie shouted. A few of the smaller clones flinched.

"I'm here to train you to use your ocular powers. I won't hurt you, I'm just here to help." She explained. As her eyes swept over the crowd, she noticed the small clone that Kabuto had told her about. He sat in a corner, curled up into a ball.

Lexie walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up.

"Can you join us?" She asked him. The small clone nodded and stood up. He walked over to the crowd like a robot.

Lexie walked back up to the front. It would be hard to train all of the clones, but she had to.

Kotsu opened his eyes slowly. He blinked when he saw the bright light above his head.

He clenched his fists when he remembered Kabuto's face. The one who had killed his father and hurt Naruto and himself. He looked around.

"Matthew? Naruto?" He asked quietly. Naruto looked up from a shuriken he was playing with.

"Kotsu!" Naruto exclaimed, running over to the small child's bed. "Are you okay? Want anything? Ramen?"

Kotsu shook his head and smiled. "Is Matthew here?"

"Well..."

  
  
Chapter 42: lots of foreshadowing even though you don't realize it yet  
Summary:

There will be lots of action coming up... and some in this chapter. Kabuto, Lexie, Michael, Austin and Matthew are featured. As usual.

  


Lexie squinted as she looked across the children's faces. Her vision wasn't the greatest, but she didn't know that her vision was different from others.

Kabuto frowned as he watched her struggle to see the ones on the edge of the group.

"Lexie, are you nearsighed?" Kabuto asked curiously. "You seem to be having trouble seeing."

Lexie shook her head.

"Then read that sign across the room." Kabuto commanded.

Lexie squinted and focused on the sign. After a few minutes, she replied, "I can't read it. Why?"

Kabuto sighed. "You have the Byakugan. How are you nearsighted?" He asked. "Try these on." He took off his glasses and handed them to Lexie, his nearsightedness annoying him and causing him to squint.

Lexie put on the glasses and looked at the sign. "It's really blurry and weird, but I can kind of read it better..." She told Kabuto.

"I guess I can test your eyes after this. Just explain the basics of Byakugan or something and I'll check your eyes afterwards." Kabuto told her, taking back his glasses.

Lexie shrugged and thought about how to teach the clones.

-an hour later-

Austin watched suspiciously as his door opened. He jumped when he saw Kabuto poke his head in.

"Hello. Lexie told me to give you this." Kabuto said quickly. He threw a fuzzy blanket at Austin.

Austin backed away from the blanket. "And you're just giving this to me? Why?"

"Well... Lexie told me to, so I did. I'm about to test her eyes. She might need glasses."

Austin sighed and picked up the blanket. "Thanks..." He replied nervously.

Kabuto nodded and left the room.

Michael stood up. "Well, we should really get back to the village. Seems like they must be worried about us." He told Matthew. "C'mon."

Matthew shook his head. "I'm not going back, at least not for a while. Tell Kotsu and Naruto that I'm sorry and I miss them." He ordered.

Michael sighed. "Can't save even one friend... well, I guess I won't force you to come. See you soon." He replied, getting up. "Bye."

Matthew waved at Michael as he walked away. He sat down and sighed.

His eyes twitches as they turned yellow, his pupils changing to slits. Matthew grabbed his head.

"No. Please don't..." Matthew mumbled. His voice rose drastically in volume. "Michael, run! Now!"

Michael looked behind him, and watched as Matthew's hair turned more black than it was before, leaving only small blonde parts. His friend looked up at him with a murderous look in his snakelike eyes.

Matthew's words echoed in Michael's head as he ran for his life. He climbed up a tree and kept leaping from tree to tree until he was a good distance away.

His mistake was shouting Matthew's name. "Matthew, are you okay?" He shouted worriedly.

Matthew swiftly ran up the tree and sweeped Michael's legs out from under him. Michael flailed and reached for a plant to help him as he fell.

Many vines shot out and created a net under him, and he bounced on it as he landed. He slipped through the net and looked back at Matthew.

Matthew's snakelike eyes turned to a soft blue. He sat down on the branch and looked down.

Michael climbed the tree again and sat down next to his friend. "Matthew, it's okay. It wasn't you, it was that snake or something." He reassured Matthew.

Matthew shook his head and continued staring down at the forest floor, tears flowing down his face.

Kabuto gave Lexie a pair of round glasses that looked like his. "Try these on." He commanded.

Lexie looked at the glasses, then put them on her face. Shocked at the clarity of everything around her, she gasped and looked around. Everything was more colorful and clear.

"Thank you, Kabuto!" She jumped up and hugged Kabuto. Kabuto flinched, but let her hug him.

Kabuto stood uncomfortably. "Can you please let go now?" He asked quietly.

Lexie stopped hugging him. "Sorry... I'm just so happy!" She replied apologetically.

Kabuto nodded. "It is quite a shock. You never even realized that you were nearsighted?" He asked.

Lexie shook her head. "I thought I was normal..." She replied.

Kabuto smiled. "Glad I could help..." He said quietly.

Arrion looked at Naruto and Kotsu. "And neither of you know where Matthew may have gone?" He confirmed.

Kotsu and Naruto shook their heads. "I was asleep!" Kotsu exclaimed.

Naruto nodded. "I wasn't there..." He told Arrion.

Arrion nodded. "Okay." He said disappointedly. He sighed and looked down. "I just want to find him and Austin..."

Naruto nodded. "Me, you and Kotsu can find him together!" He shouted excitedly.

  
  
Chapter 43: Plotting  
Summary:

Lexie is plotting an escape. Austin needs to sleep.

  


Austin curled up in his blanket. It was colder than usual, as if there was a chill of premonition in the air. He pulled the blanket over his head and tried to sleep anyway.

Eventually, he accepted that he couldn't sleep and stared at the ceiling. He yawned and stretched, then got up and paced around the room.

Lexie touched the keys in her pocket. She had stolen them from Kabuto when she hugged him. Kabuto would soon come looking for them.

However, he wouldn't find the keys if they were sewn into the inside of her coat. She took a kunai and cut a hole in her sleeve, then slid the keys in. She carefully used the threads from a rip in her shirt to poorly sew up the hole.

Lexie looked at Kabuto, who was asleep in his own sleeping bag on the floor. She frowned and stared at the ceiling.

Kabuto was smart. He would figure out that Lexie had his keys. Would he look close enough to notice the poorly-sewn stiching on her sleeve? He was always very observant.

Lexie sighed and sat up, tired of trying to sleep.

Michael looked at Matthew. "Hey... Orochimaru's hideout is nearby! We can make him stop doing this to you!" He suggested.

Matthew looked up at him. "And Austin and Lexie would be there... right? We could save them!"

Michael grinned and nodded. "Let's go!" He exclaimed.

Ino connected her thoughts to Lexie's. 'Hey. Planning anything?' She asked curiously. 'I'll let Austin know.'

Lexie flinched. She was still not used to hearing Ino's voice in her head.

'Yes. I have Kabuto's keys and one has to open Austin's cell. Tell Austin that I'm coming to break him out soon.' Lexie replied.

'Oh, so you stole them from him?' Ino asked in disbelief. 'I didn't think you would ever do anything bad to him.'

Lexie sighed. 'Also, can you ask Matthew how he's doing?' She asked.

'I think so. I should probably sleep now, though. Bye.' Ino replied.

Lexie sighed and curled up into a ball. She couldn't sleep, so she just stared at the wall.

She woke up to Kabuto glaring at her.

"Give me the keys. I know you have them." Kabuto commanded.

Lexie replied, "I don't have your keys, Kabuto. Calm down." She rubbed her eyes.

Kabuto frowned. "Stand up. Let me check your jacket." He ordered.

Lexie took her coat off nervously and tossed it to Kabuto, who thoroughly inspected it.

"You probably put them down somewhere." Lexie suggested. "You should go look for them if they're that important to you."

Kabuto threw the coat at her and stalked out of the room.

Austin sat in the corner of his cell, barely awake.

'Hey! Lexie's going to break you out soon! Isn't that great?' Ino shouted, jarring Austin awake.

'Very...' Austin said tiredly. 'Listen, tell her I need to sleep first or I won't stand a chance against anyone.'

'Okay! Have you not been sleeping?'

Austin frowned. 'It was too cold last night.' He replied.

Matthew and Michael began walking, as Michael detected Kabuto's faint path. He led Matthew through the forest.

"You're sure it's around here?" Matthew asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. I can sense that Kabuto and Lexie walked here." Michael replied.

Just then, Ino burst into Matthew's mind. 'Hey, I don't know you too well, but I noticed you were nearby. Are you coming to the hideout?' She asked.

Matthew jumped. 'Ino? Yeah, we are! Are Lexie and Austin fine?'

'Lexie is plotting an escape. Austin's sleep deprived. Pretty normal.' Ino replied.

"Hey, Michael! Ino just told me that Austin and Lexie are okay! Lexie's planning to escape!" He told Michael excitedly.

  
  
Chapter 44: Disappearances  
Summary:

Some more people go missing.. and everyone begins advancing towards the climax.

  
  
End Notes:

I wrote this in social studies with my teacher reading over my shoulder. Rip me.

  


Kabuto finally entered the room. He frowned at Lexie. "They're nowhere. And judging from what I've learned about you in the past, you have them somewhere. This is the last time I'll ask nicely. Please give me the keys."

Lexie shrugged. "If I had them, I would give them to you." She told Kabuto.

Kabuto sighed. "Fine." He said dangerously, pulling out a kunai.

"Give me the keys." He commanded, holding the knife at her throat.

Lexie shivered a bit. She knew that Kabuto would kill her without hesitation, but a little voice in the back of her mind told her to not give up. "For the last time, I don't have them." Lexie replied venomously.

Kabuto sighed. "I know for a fact that you have the keys." He stated. The kunai was removed. "I'm still suspicious of you, however. Don't try anything."

Lexie nodded. "Sure." She replied.

Austin woke up from his nap. It was still cold, but at least he was rested. He looked down.

When would Lexie come to free him? It seemed like he had been in the hideout forever. He wanted out, and he wanted to be with Ino.

He hadn't seen his team in weeks. He hadn't had a good meal in weeks. He had to silently hate Kabuto. In other words, he hated where he was. In Konoha, he could do pretty much anything he wanted. He could see his friends and go where he wanted.

He couldn't help but think that it was all his fault.

Hikari glared at the wall, as if she could burn a hole in it. She wanted her and her siblings out of this place. Ryu growled and paced around the room like a caged tiger.

Ryu yelled, "Stalagmite Serpents Jutsu!" He weaved signs, and multiple crystalline snakes slithered other to the door. He commanded them to try and break a hole in the door, but they failed to achieve their goal.

Habiki sighed. "Just give it up, Ryu. We're stuck here and nothing can change that." He said halfheartedly.

Ryu sat down. "I just want to get us out of here..." He mumbled dejectedly.

Hikari put a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay. We'll make it out of here and beat up the guy with glasses."

Ryu grinned and nodded. "Yeah! We'll kill him!" He shouted cheerfully.

Arrion and Kotsu were missing. That was the latest news in Konoha. The village was nervous about these recent disappearances, and the security around the village was tightened significantly. Parents were watchful of their children, and shinobi watched their back. No one knew who or what was taking them, or if they just decided to leave.

One of the most affected by the disappearances was Naruto Uzumaki. He trained determinedly so he could find his brothers and bring everyone who was missing back to the village. Then, he thought, he would be a hero!

Arrion frowned as he carried Kotsu through the forest. The small child had insisted on coming with him to find the missing genin, and Kotsu wouldn't let him leave without him.

Unfortunately, Kotsu's wooden leg wasn't good for walking long distances. He wondered if the child could ever become a good ninja.

Either way, he would find his team and all the rest of the missing shinobi. They were, as you could say...

Lost Ninja.

  
  
Chapter 45: It REALLY BEGINS  
Summary:

The ending begins to begin. Wow, that's weird to say.

  
  
End Notes:

nyoom Kabuto is a meanie (Austin probably going to be so smug about me admitting this)

  


Kotsu looked in every bush and under every rock. He would find his brother and his friends!

Arrion was asleep, so Kotsu had decided that he would find the missing genin quickly, so Arrion would be proud of him. So far, he hadn't even found a clue.

He wondered where Matthew was at. Was he lonely? Was he hungry?

Matthew ate a piece of the squirrel that Michael had hunted down and cooked. The meat was delicious, with basil and other plants on it. The meat was cooked just right, and it tasted fresh. It was the best food he had ever eaten!

"Michael, you're really good at cooking! Have you ever considered working as a chef?" Matthew asked in between mouthfuls of the meat.

Michael shrugged. "It's fun, I guess. I could be a chef when I'm not being a cool ninja." He replied.

Matthew smiled. He could recognize that Michael was, in fact, a cool ninja. He could control plants- how many things are cooler than that?

"I've always wanted to ask... where are your parents?" Matthew asked.

Michael frowned. "Well, I never knew them. They died when the nine-tailed fox attacked the village." He answered. "I've always wondered what they looked like and who they were. All I know are their names- Akai and Nasu Videnlo."

Matthew nodded. After a while, he stated, "I really don't know who my family is, but I guess Naruto and Kotsu are my brothers... and so is Kabuto."

Michael smiled. "Your family is whoever you're close to and whoever cares for you, no matter what you do. You, Austin, Lexie and Arrion are my family, as far as I'm concerned."

Matthew frowned. "Would you say that Orochimaru is my family?" He asked Michael.

"He raised you, but he wasn't really nice to you... it depends on whether you think so or not." Michael replied.

Matthew sighed and looked down.

Arrion carried Kotsu through the forest, making quick progress. He was moving far faster than Michael and Matthew were, and he would reach their position in about an hour.

Kotsu was asleep and snoring, which slightly annoyed Arrion. The Jonin reluctantly held the sleeping child as he zoomed through the trees.

-an hour later-

Matthew looked as a ninja leapt into a tree nearby. Gasping, he told Michael to hide.

It was too late, and Arrion spotted Matthew frantically looking for a place to hide. "Heya, Matthew!" Arrion shouted happily.

Matthew poked his head out of the bush. "Arrion?" He asked. Matthew flinched when he saw Arrion carrying Kotsu.

"I-is he okay?" He asked concernedly.

Arrion nodded. "Just tired. He recovered from his wounds just fine." He replied.

Matthew sighed. "Well, I really want to say sorry to him for hurting him-" Matthew flinched. "B-but I didn't mean to... and I know that's not a good excuse, but..."

Arrion put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay." He said reassuringly.

Michael grinned. "Yep! It's alright!" He exclaimed.

Matthew smiled a bit. "O-okay..."

Kotsu opened his eyes slowly. He looked lazily up at Matthew. "Hey... how's it goin'?" He asked, smiling.

Matthew stepped back. "Y-you're not mad at me?" He asked hesitantly.

"Nah." Kotsu replied. He shivered a bit before continuing. "It's just... that guy... I can always tell that it's him from the way he looks when he hurts someone. Like he's happy. And crazy."

"Sadistic, basically. Or as Austin says, a meanie." Michael stated.

Kotsu frowned. "When he... when he did this to me, and killed my papa... he almost looked happy. Is he okay?" He asked.

Matthew shook his head. "Kabuto is not okay. He's messed up in the head, probably. An evil maniac." He thought back to the times when Kabuto had gone out on spy missions. All those times, could he be doing something like what he did to Kotsu?

Kotsu walked up to Matthew and hugged his leg. "We'll find this Kabuto guy and smash his face in, right? Then I'll be Hokage...!" He exclaimed. The child's words trailed off as he looked at the sky.

"Matthew, do you think I'm weak?" He asked.

Matthew shook his head. "Of course not! You're really good at throwing shuriken and using ninjutsu in your good hand!" He told Kotsu.

Kotsu shook his head. "I know I'm just a stupid little cripple, or whatever people keep calling me, and I know I'm weak. I'll never really be Hokage, right? Because of Kabuto, I'll never be a good ninja."

Matthew picked his brother up. "Of course you can! You'll be the best Hokage that ever lived, I'm sure of it!"

Kotsu smiled a bit. "Sure!" He said optimistically.

Arrion grinned. "Now, I assume we're all going to the same place... Orochimaru's hideout." He stated.

Matthew was the first to arrive at the hideout. He put Kotsu down.

"Kotsu, I wish I could bring you in, but you could get hurt. Stay out here, and please try to stay safe." Matthew told him. "I'll be back soon."

Kotsu nodded as he watched the group walk towards the entrance, looking around for enemies.

Lexie walked slowly down the hallway. Kabuto had let her go get food by herself, and she was using the opportunity to finally break her friends out. She made her way towards Austin's cell.

She looked at the keys and tried 5 of them before she got the right one. Austin's door opened slowly and quietly.

"Austin?" Lexie asked quietly. Austin raised his head up. "Lexie? Are we leaving now?" He asked excitedly.

Lexie nodded. "Come on, then." She told him.

Austin, however, was frozen into place by a mixture of fear and anger. Lexie frowned. "You okay?" She asked.

Austin pointed behind her shakily, and Lexie hardly had any time to turn around before Kabuto punched her into a wall. She squeaked as her head collided with the hard stone.

Austin growled at Kabuto. "You hurt Ino... you've hurt all of my friends in some way... I'm gonna kill you!" He shouted savagely.

Kabuto watched amusedly as Lexie stood up shakily and grabbed her glasses off of the ground. "I'd like to see you try, little Uchiha." He teased Austin.

Austin glared at him. "My name is Austin, and I'm gonna be Hokage some day! No, I'm going to be stronger than a Hokage!" He yelled.

Kabuto smirked. "And how would you, a small child, achieve that? How could you hope to even become a jonin when you can't beat me?"

Austin looked at Lexie. "Can you go get Sasuke and Ino?" He asked her.

Lexie nodded, but Kabuto kicked her and put his foot on her throat. "No one's going anywhere. I can't kill you, unfortunately, but I can hurt you both. Lexie, I knew you had the keys from the beginning, and now it's time for your punishment."

Kabuto kicked her in the side, then grabbed her hood and picked her up. She growled and tried to hurt him as he pulled out a kunai.

Austin ran towards Kabuto. "Put her down! You won't hurt anyone ever again after I'm done with you!" He grabbed Kabuto's arm and threw his entire body towards Kabuto.

Kabuto moved his arm and Austin fell down beside him. Austin grabbed Kabuto's leg and kicked it.

Kabuto smiled and threw Lexie out into the hallway. "It's hilarious, how stupid you both are." He mocked them.

Lexie got up slowly and shakily, her head throbbing and a large cut on her forehead. She leaned on the wall and began slowly walking towards Sasuke and Ino's cell.

  
  
Chapter 46: A battle or something  
Summary:

This chapter is basically everyone except Lexie getting mad at Kabuto for varying reasons.

  
  
Notes:

This was fun to write.

  
  
End Notes:

*laughing evilly* I love revealing things that change the story completely.

  


Ino and Sasuke burst out of the door. "Austin's in trouble?" Sasuke asked urgently. "Come on, let's help him!"

Ino nodded. 'Lexie, are you coming with us?' She asked.

Lexie nodded and they ran towards where the fight was occurring.

At that exact moment, Matthew happened to spot Kabuto and Austin glaring at each other in the hallway. "I can see them!" He shouted. The group sped towards the conflict.

"So, you really want to fight me?" Kabuto asked arrogantly. "It's no use. You're a weak genin. I'm the same level as that copy ninja, Kakashi."

Austin glared furiously at him. "I'm gonna kill you for what you did to Ino! And you hurt my friends, too!" He shouted. Austin looked over to spot Matthew, Austin and Arrion.

Kabuto also looked over. "Oh. It's them. There's no way that they can defeat me, either." He dismissively stated.

Michael waved at Kabuto. "Hi! How are you?" He greeted the silver-haired man kindly.

Kabuto shrugged. Michael was definitely a strange kid. "I'm fine! About to kill a few genin!" He responded confidently.

Arrion walked right up to Kabuto. "I'm a jonin, and I won't let you kill any of these genin. I'll protect them with my life." He told Kabuto threateningly.

Matthew growled at Kabuto. "And I'll use the power of the snake inside of me to kill you!" He threatened.

Kabuto stifled a laugh. He looked at Matthew amusedly. "Oh, little brother... you're nobody special." He told the child. "Hasn't anyone told you?"

"Told me what?" Matthew demanded.

"You don't even have a snake inside of you. It died soon after the experiment. And here's the best part... you're not even a Senju."

Matthew looked at Kabuto in disbelief. "B-but... I am a Senju... and what's happening to me is because of the snake... r-right?" He asked.

Kabuto grinned. "You're Orochimaru's son. When you were small, he left an imprint on you so that later on, when he had perfected a jutsu he was working on... he could possess you at will." He explained.

Matthew shook his head. "That's... that can't be true!"

"It's true. And guess what? Lord Orochimaru can explain this better, but in many ways, you are him." Kabuto told Matthew, smirking at the look of utter shock on the genin's face.

Michael unzipped his backpack and let vines spread across his body. The vines seemed to create armor around him. "Don't listen to him, Matthew! He's just trying to distract you!" He shouted at his friend.

Matthew clenched his fists. "Was my life just some sort of sick game to you?" He asked with equal parts disbelief and anger.

Kabuto shrugged. "I wouldn't say it was sick... but it sure was entertaining."

Matthew charged at Kabuto, aiming to punch the man in the face. Kabuto stepped aside and let Matthew crash into the wall.

"Weak. Useless." Kabuto insulted the genin. He grinned as he prepared to kick Matthew in the head.

Kabuto felt something slam into his back, forcing him to fall to the ground. He looked up to see Austin on top of him, preparing to stab him with a kunai.

Kabuto rolled to the side, but Austin managed to stab him in the arm.

The Uchiha watched in dismay as the wound closed up, leaving no mark.

Kabuto leapt up and consumed a food pill. He weaved signs rapidly, and chakra scalpels appeared around his hands.

Austin looked around in panic, and saw Ino out of the corner of his eye. He immediately whipped his head around and looked at Ino.

"Ino! Don't go near Kabuto! He might hurt you!" Austin shouted.

Ino put her hands on her hips. 'I'll help you beat up this meanie!'

Matthew stood up. "Let's all beat him up!"

Kabuto ignored the other ninja and looked at Lexie. "Whose side are you on, then?" He asked her.

Lexie looked down. Austin glared at her. "If you're even considering being on his side, you're really stupid! He just hurt you, and you still like him!"

Lexie looked at Kabuto. "Sorry, Austin... I'm on Kabuto's side."

Kabuto nodded. "Thought so. Help me eliminate these children. Lord Orochimaru will be here soon." He commanded.

Lexie slowly moved beside Kabuto. "I don't really want to hurt-" She was cut off by Kabuto glaring at her.

"I told you to help me kill them. If you're not going to do what I say, then go with them. I'll kill you along with the others." Kabuto said angrily.

Lexie looked down and activated her Byakugan, reluctantly assuming the gentle fist stance.

Kabuto nodded and looked back at Austin. "I'll take this one. You go fight Matthew and the plant kid." He commanded.

Matthew glared at Lexie. "Why would you team up with him? We helped you, and all he did was torture you and kidnap you."

Lexie frowned and looked at Matthew. "I'm only alive because of him." She told Matthew.

-2 years ago-

The young girl curled up in a ball, hiding in a bush. She was cold. She was hungry and hadn't had water in 2 days. If she didn't die from the cold, she'd definitely die of thirst.

She peeked out of the bush to spot someone walking along the nearby path through the forest. She squeaked and hid in the bush again, but she was already spotted by the person.

As they drew near, she could tell that it was a male that was a few years older than her. He crouched down by the bush. "Hello." He greeted her quietly. "What's your name?"

"I-I'm Lexie. Lexie Hyuga." She replied, terrified.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi. What are you doing out here?"

"I ran away from home... and I'm really cold now..." She said with a bit more confidence.

Kabuto frowned. A Hyuga that ran away from home? She could be incredibly valuable if she could be recruited.

"I could help you. I live just over there." Kabuto told her.

Lexie accepted his help reluctantly. She followed Kabuto to Orochimaru's hideout, where she spent the next 2 years of her life. While she hated it there, it was better than living on her own and trying to survive on what she could find out in the forest.

She eventually escaped.

-present-

Matthew looked at Kabuto. "He was just kidnapping you. He didn't save you."

Kabuto frowned. "I could tell that she would die soon. Really, I did save her." He replied. "Anyway, enough talking. Let's just get this over with."

Austin's Sharingan activated as he flew towards Kabuto. "Great fireball jutsu!" He shouted, launching a fireball at Kabuto.

Kabuto dodged the fireball, but Michael tackled him and wrapped him in vines, immobilizing him.

Kabuto broke free of the vines and looked over at Lexie, who still wasn't fighting.

"I won't say it again. Attack them."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> holiday specials

  
Chapter 1

Lexie sat on her couch. It was Thanksgiving in Konoha, and she had invited all of her friends. Matthew, Michael, Austin, Arrion, Ino... Orochimaru, Kabuto...

Well, Kabuto was invited, but it's a given that Orochimaru would be coming with him. She didn't really want to have Orochimaru over, but she didn't really have a choice.

The doorbell rang and Lexie got up, walking towards the door. She opened the door and saw Austin.

"Hello, Austin!" She greeted him. "Come on in, we have food out already."

The Uchiha ran to the food and grabbed a bowl of rolls. "How're you doing?" He asked with his mouth full of bread.

"I'm doing fine. How are you?"

The conversation continued until the doorbell rang again. Lexie started to get up, but the door was already opened by an annoyed Orochimaru.

"Kabuto, we didn't need to bring anything!" Orochimaru told Kabuto, who was holding a plate of cookies.

"Well, I wanted to..." Kabuto replied in his defense. He put the cookies down and stretched.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking, stupid?" Austin asked Kabuto.

"You wouldn't know true genius if it stood in front of you, as it is right now." Kabuto retorted.

"That's not even a funny joke!" Austin exclaimed.

Kabuto replied, "It's not a joke, you thick-headed child."

"Calm down, guys!" Lexie exclaimed.

Orochimaru looked around. "Do you have any eggs?" He asked. "They're my favorite food."

Lexie nodded. "They're in the fridge." She replied.

Kabuto and Austin glared at each other as they sat down on opposite ends of the table. Austin continued to eat rolls, while Kabuto neatly placed food on his plate.

Orochimaru cracked some eggs into a pan. He tried to remember how Kabuto makes eggs- his are always the best.

He remembered Kabuto using butter, so he dropped a whole bar of butter on top. The more butter, the better, right?

Austin grinned. While Kabuto was distracted, he placed a small bit of ice on Orochimaru's plate of food that Kabuto had prepared. Orochimaru would be horrified to find that his food was cold, and he would blame it on Kabuto.

Kabuto called himself the genius, but I'm the true genius! Austin thought.

Orochimaru touched the egg with a spoon and watched it slowly turn white under the film of butter. Kabuto always flipped the egg over, right?

He tried to remember how Kabuto flips eggs. He takes the handle of the pan and moves it forward quickly, then slightly up and backwards, Orochimaru remembered.

He grabbed the handle and moved the pan forward, then pulled it back.

Unfortunately, Orochimaru moved the pan too quickly and too far backwards. With a squeak, he fell on the ground as the melted butter and boiling egg touched his face.

"Kabuto!" Orochimaru shouted, getting up and frowning as his face burned.

Kabuto got up and ran over. He expected to see something seriously wrong. Instead, he saw Orochimaru furiously wiping hot butter and eggs off of his face.

"Make me an egg! Now!" Orochimaru commanded. "Then clean up the floor!"

Kabuto nodded and began making the egg, aware of Orochimaru carefully studying everything Kabuto did. Kabuto only put a bit of butter, and he flipped it gracefully, without getting boiling liquid all over himself.

Little did Kabuto know, Austin was already scheming with him out of the room.

He ran over to the thermostat and turned it down as far as it would go. He always wore a fuzzy jacket, so it wouldn't affect him too much.

Grinning, he sat down to eat his food. He would torture Kabuto as much as possible!

Kabuto sat down again, and immediately noticed a change in temperature. The doorbell rang again, and Lexie simply shouted for them to come in.

Ino stepped into the room, and that was when Austin realized that Ino was wearing even less than Kabuto. He looked from his food, to Ino, then to the thermostat.

Kabuto smirked, realizing what was going on. He got up and turned the temperature back up.

"Nice try, little Uchiha. You won't get me. Do you know why? It's because I'm smart and you're not." Kabuto said to him smugly.

Ino glared at Kabuto. 'I think you're being really rude.' She told Kabuto through thoughts.

Michael and Matthew arrived, and Orochimaru and Lexie finally sat down at the table.

Lexie sat next to Kabuto, moving her chair towards him. Kabuto frowned and looked back at his food.

'Hey, Ino! Take my jacket and I'll turn down the temperature!' Austin told Ino. He passed her his jacket under the table, and reached back to change the temperature. He found the knob and turned it until it couldn't go any lower.

Orochimaru pushed his plate away. "Kabuto, why is my food cold?" He asked calmly, but dangerously.

Kabuto swallowed his mouthful of mashed potatoes. "No idea." He said after swallowing his food.

Matthew looked at Austin, and Austin nodded to confirm that it was his doing. Matthew smiled a bit.

"Get me another plate. Warm food this time." Orochimaru commanded icily. Kabuto nodded and got up to get Orochimaru some food.

Orochimaru began to shiver. He hated the cold. So did Lexie, who was wearing a short sleeved shirt. She frowned.

The room only got colder, and Kabuto wasn't in the room to tell everyone that Austin turned down the temperature.

Kabuto walked back in and immediately frowned at Austin. He began to walk towards the thermostat, but was stopped by a well-aimed kunai to the leg from Austin. He fell face first into Orochimaru's food, getting mashed potatoes everywhere.

"Kabuto, I'm leaving." Orochimaru said irritatedly. He got up and left the room. Everyone was uncomfortable, especially Kabuto, who was wiping food off of his face.

Lexie helped Kabuto mostly clean his hair, while Austin snickered and silently celebrated his victory, still shivering.

Ino smiled too, making Austin happy.

Just then, Arrion burst into the room. "What's up, shinobi of the Le-" He stopped talking as he took in the scene in front of him. Lexie was helping Kabuto get food off of his glasses, which were broken, and Austin was grinning. Ino was wearing Austin's jacket, and the whole room was freezing.

Kabuto picked up his cleaned glasses and glared at Austin. "I'll get you next time, Uchiha. Next time, you won't be so successful." He said to Austin.

"Sure you will!" Austin replied mockingly. "Kabutt face!"

Kabuto glared at him.

"Kabuto Yuckytushi!" He shouted.

Kabuto yelled and jumped at Austin, but was stopped by Lexie. She threw him at a wall and put her foot on his chest.

"Don't hurt Austin. Got it?" She said to him dangerously. Kabuto nodded, and he was released.

Austin grinned and stuck his tongue out at Kabuto.

  
  
Chapter 2: Christmas  
Summary:

It's Christmas at Austin's house! Everyone is invited except for one person, but he comes anyway.

  


Austin put the finishing touches on his Christmas tree. He grinned as he stepped backwards in order to admire the beautiful tree. The lights flashed and blinked in different orders, seeming to create a harmony of colors.

That was when the door was bashed in. Through the splinters emerged the dreaded, the horrible...

Kabuto Yakushi. Or, as Austin calls him, Kabutt Yuckytushi.

"You aren't invited! Get out, ya meanie!" Austin shouted. "AWAY!"

Kabuto smirked. "I don't need an invitation, little Uchiha. Where's my present?" He asked.

Austin gestured towards the power outlet. "If you stick a fork in there, it'll dispense candy."

Kabuto laughed loudly. "You're hilarious." He stated, grinning.

Austin looked down. Just to be the better person, he really should give Kabuto a present of some sort. "I'll be right back." He told Kabuto. He ran off to find something to give to the meanie.

Austin eventually came up with a stuffed bear that he forgot about. He never liked it, so he decided to give it to Kabuto.

He put it in a box and carried it to Kabuto. "Here's your present!" He told Kabuto happily. Kabuto suspiciously eyed the box before taking it.

Kabuto opened the box carefully. He looked at the bear for a moment, then picked it up and looked at it. He couldn't believe that Austin actually gave him something, last minute or not.

Kabuto smiled a bit. "Thanks." He thanked Austin reluctantly. Austin watched in amazement as Kabuto hugged the bear.

Lexie stared at the broken door, then entered the house. She watched as Kabuto hugged his new stuffed animal. "Kabuto?" She questioned.

Kabuto jumped. "Oh! Lexie! This isn't mine! Don't know how it got here!" He exclaimed, throwing it down on the ground. Austin scowled at the silver-haired man.

"Okay, then..." Lexie said, looking at the Christmas tree. "Nice tree, Austin."

Austin grinned. "Did it all by myself! Sasuke didn't help at all!" He replied proudly.

"Great job! Got any food?" She asked.

Austin nodded. "I have some cookies, and some vegetable beef soup!" He told Lexie. As Lexie walked off to get some food, Kabuto picked the bear up. Austin watched smugly as Kabuto put it in a bag after hugging it.

"You like him? I named him Neb!" Austin told Kabuto.

"Heh... thanks, I guess." Kabuto said, smiling a bit.

Matthew, Kotsu and Naruto piled into the house, with the two less serious brothers screeching and laughing loudly. Kotsu leapt into the couch and bounced up and down, while Naruto laughed and threw a pillow at him.

Austin giggled and threw a blanket at Naruto, who leapt out of the way and launched Kabuto's bag at Austin.

Kabuto squealed and jumped up to grab his bag from Austin. Austin threw the bag at Kabuto's face. Kabuto grabbed the bag and hugged it.

"You protecting Neb, Kabutt?" Austin asked. "Or is there something else in there?"

Kabuto shook his head. "No! There's nothing el-" He was cut off by Kotsu leaping on the bag and yanking it out of his arms.

Naruto took the bag from Kabuto. He unzipped it and pulled out...

A stack of books. Opon closer examination, it appeared to be the entire Makeout series.

Austin grinned. "Kabuto, you read this stuff?!" He exclaimed.

Kabuto shook his head, blushing. "N-no! That's Lord Orochimaru's b-bag! I don't know how-"

Naruto crossed his arms and shook his head. "Stupid Kabuto!" He shouted.

Lexie walked in with a bowl of soup. She looked at the obviously distressed man. "Kabuto, what's wrong? Are you okay?" She asked concernedly.

Austin smirked. "Look, we found his stash of Makeout books!" He exclaimed.

Kabuto shook her head frantically. "Y-you don't u-understand! They're L-Lord Orochimaru's!" He denied that he owned the books.

Lexie smiled. "I'm sure that you're telling the truth, Kabuto."

Kabuto sighed in relief. Austin frowned at Lexie. "Come on, Lexie! They're obviously his!" He exclaimed.

"Austin, I know that they're his." Lexie whispered. "Just go with it."

Austin frowned. "Well, let's open presents! Kabuto already got his!" He told the group.

Lexie found a box with her name on it, so she ripped it open. Inside was a kunai with serrated edges that was especially deadly.

Austin grinned. "Do ya like it?" He asked excitedly.

Lexie nodded. "Thanks, Austin!"

Austin opened his box just as Ino burst into the room. She grinned. 'Just in time to see you open mine!' She thought to the whole room.

Austin held up a blanket with his name on it. It was soft and thick, and it would be perfect for the cold winter nights.

"Thanks, Ino!" Austin exclaimed, running over and hugging the girl.

Ino smiled and hugged him back.

Kabuto scoffed. "How cute." He said mockingly. Austin glared at him.

"Oh! Kabuto, I have something for you!" Lexie said excitedly, carefully reaching into her bag. She pulled out a small rat. "Her name is Tatta!" She put the rat on Kabuto's shoulder.

Tatta sniffed her new owner. Kabuto smiled as the rodent settled down, curling up against his neck. "Thank you so much! How'd you know I like rats?"

Lexie shrugged. "I just like rats, so I thought you would." She replied shyly. "I'm glad you do!"

Matthew got a new hoodie from Austin, Kotsu got a pair of gloves that would fit both of his arms, and Naruto got an abnormally large amount of ramen.

Michael and Arrion eventually arrived, and they got a new striped shirt and a strange-looking crystal, respectively.

Kabuto smirked and held Tatta as he looked at the broken door. "Good luck fixing that, idiot. Better get started now, huh?" He taunted Austin.

Austin growled at him. "No! I'll make you fix it yourself... or I'll show everyone your books!" He shouted.

The door was replaced and fixed before the next morning.


End file.
